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EXPOSITORY NOTES 

ON 

THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 



Expository Notes 



ON THE BOOK OF 



JOSHUA. 



ii^j<j^ 



BY 



/ 



/ 



HOWARD CROSBY, 

PASTOR OF THE FOURTH AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NE"W 
YORK, AND CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE 
CITY OF NEW YORK. 





733- 



NEW YORK: 
EGBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS, 

530 Bkoadway. 

1875. 



^s 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

HOWARD CROSBY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Cambridge : 
Press of John Wilson &^ Son. 



PREFACE. 



npHE Book of Joshua records the conquest of 
Canaan by the children of Israel, and their 
permanent establishment in the land. Although 
the destructive criticism has attempted to disprove 
its unity, its arguments have been specious and 
puerile. No book of the Scriptures is more con- 
sistent with itself, and is more well-proportioned 
and complete in its construction. It opens with 
God's order to Joshua, as Moses' successor, to lead 
Israel into Canaan, and it closes with Joshua's 
death, after the conquest and settlement of the 
country under his leadership had been sealed by 
twenty years of peaceful possession. 

In a few places there are indications of omis- 
sions, where it is likely parts of the book have 
failed in the transcription ; but these occur in 
geographical lists, where such omissions would be 
most apt to occur, and where they are of least 
importance. Examples of such omissions are in 
chap. XV., between the fifty-ninth and sixtieth 
verses, where a group of prominent towns of Judah 



6 PREFACE. 

are wanting (though given in the LXX), and in 
the description of Manasseh's border in chap. xvii. 
The narrative, though regular in its order, some- 
times, it is true, mentions an incident out of its 
chronological place, but in such cases forms the 
exception for the sake of the continuity of another 
chain of events. Neither the omissions nor these 
occasional departures from an annalist's chronolog- 
ical exactness invalidate in the slightest the perfect 
unity of the book ; and therefore from this argu- 
ment no ground is gained against its authenticity 
as a work composed very soon after the events it 
records, perhaps by Phinehas the high-priest. All 
attempts to find a later date from the character of 
the Hebrew used in the book are equally vain, the 
language being precisely that which we should ex- 
pect to follow the Mosaic period, and presenting no 
difficulty whatever to the comparative linguist. 

That the book was written shortly after the 
events which it records, is evident from chap. vi. 
25, where Rahab is spoken of as still living in the 
writer's time. 

The book naturally divides itself into two parts : 
the conquest of the land, and the distribution of 
its districts to the tribes. Each of these divisions 
occupies twelve chapters of the twenty-four. In 
composing the book, doubtless public records pre- 
pared by Joshua and by Eleazer were used ; and to 
this fact may be attributed such repetitions as that 



PEEFACE. 7 

of the phrase, " the land had rest from war," in 
chap. xi. 23, and chap. xiv. 15, and such gaps as 
those between chap. xxii. and xxiii., and between 
chap, xxiii. and xxiv., only such selections beiug 
made as were appropriate to a people* s hook^ that 
should be in constant use among the tribes. 

The two general divisions of the book, the one 
touching the conquest and the other touching the 
distribution, may be subdivided as follows: — 

I. Joshua's encouragement, chap. i. 1-9. 
II. Joshua's preliminary preparations for crossing Jor- 
dan, chap. i. 10 — ii. 24. 
III. Joshua's ultimate preparations for crossing Jor- 
dan, chap. iii. 1-13. 
lY. The crossmg, chap. iii. 14-v. 1. 
V. Preparations for the conquest, chap. v. 2-vi. 
VI. The conquest, chap, vii.-xii. 
YII. The inheritance of the two tribes and a half , chap. 

xiii. 
VIII. The inheritance of the nine tribes and a half, chap, 
xiv.-xix. 
IX. The cities of refuge, chap. xx. 
X. The Levitical cities, chap. xxi. 

XI. The return of the two tribes and a half, chap. xxii. 
XII. Joshua's two farewell addresses, chap, xxiii.-xxiv. 

The present little volume is an attempt to put 
in succinct form such explanations of the text as 
may help the reader to its clearer understanding, 
without annoying him with the details of criticism. 
For a thorough topographical examination of the 
Book of Joshua, one should use the maps of Rob- 



8 PEEFACE. 

inson or Van de Velde, or the newly published 
and very valuable maps found in Smith's Ancient 
Atlas. 

Not wishing to burden the notes with discussion, 
I have put in an Appendix such thoughts on some 
of the main points of the history as I wished to 
express at greater length. 

In the hope that this effort may contribute its 

little to the extension of Bible knowledge, and to 

the blessed fruits of such knowledge, I submit it 

to its readers. 

B.. C. 



COMMENTARY ON JOSHUA 



CHAPTER L 

I. Joshua's Encouragement. (Yer. 1-9.) 

1 Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the 
Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto 
Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 

'T^HIS passage is the connecting link between 
-*■ Deuteronomy and the book of Joshua. It 
presents Joshua taking the place of Moses by the 
Divine command. 

Vee,. 1. Moses the servant of the Lord. Moses 
has this high designation given him in the Scrip- 
tures far oftener than any other man (Ex. xiv. 
31 ; Num. xii. 7 ; Dent, xxxiv. 6 ; Josh. ix. 24 ; 
1 Kings viii. 56 ; 2 Kings xviii. 12 ; 2 Kings xxi. 
8; 1 Chron. vi. 49; 2 Chron. xxiv. 9; Neh. x. 
29 ; Dan. ix. 11 ; Mai. iv. 4 ; Rev. xv. 3 ; Ps. 
cv. 26). The ground of this peculiar emphasis may 
be found (Num. xii. 8, and Heb. iii. 5) in Moses' 
singular faithfulness. The title '' servant of God " 
is also applied in Scripture to patriarchs, as Abra- 
ham, Jacob, and Job ; to prophets, as Elijah, Jonah, 
1* 



10 COMMENTARY ON 

Daniel, and Isaiah ; to a pious king, as Hezekiah ; 
to a good leader, as Zerubbabel ; to an upright 
statesman, as Eliakim, in He-zekiah's time ; to apos- 
tles, as Paul and James and John ; and even to a 
heathen monarch, as Nebuchadnezzar. May the 
application in the last case be an indication that 
Nebuchadnezzar became a true child of God by 
faith ? 

Spake unto. By Urim and Thummini. (See lat- 
ter part of thQ next note.) 

Joshua^ the son of Nun^ was of the tribe of 
Ephraim, and first appears as generalissimo of the 
army of Israel (as distinguished from the " children 
of Israel" at large), in the battle against the Am- 
alekites near Rephidim (Ex. xviii. 9). He was 
then over forty years of age, according to Josephus 
(Ant. V. 1, 29). At Mount Sinai he was the 
special attendant upon Moses (Ex. xxiv. 18, xxxii. 
17, xxxiii. 11), holding a position near him during 
the first forty days' separation on the mount, and 
also afterward in the provisional tabernacle. He 
next appears as, in conjunction with Caleb, oppos- 
ing the cowardly report of ten of the spies who 
had been sent to view the land of Canaan (Num. 
xiv. 6). Thirty-eight years later, God orders his 
special appointment as the successor of Moses 
(Num. xxvii. 18). He was to be to Eleazar what 
Moses had been to Aaron. Yet Joshua never had 
the high distinction which Moses had of having 
the Lord talk to him "mouth to mouth" (Num. 
xii. 8). The phraseology in Num. xxvii. 20 shows 



JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 11 

2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go 
over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land 
which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 

3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread 
upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 

Joshua's inferiority to Moses, as well as the fact 
that he was directed to apply to the Urim and 
Thummim of the high-priest for direction, whereas 
Moses went directly to the Lord. 

Joshua is here called " Moses" minister ; " that is, 
'' Moses' attendant," indicative of his previous po- 
sition before the people. 

Ver. 2. Moses my servant is dead. Yet we 
see Moses with Jesus on the mount of transfig- 
uration fifteen centuries afterward. There is no 
death for the servant of God (John xi. 26). It 
cannot be too much insisted upon that our com- 
mon use of the word '' death " has relation only to 
a semblance and type of death, to wit, the disso- 
lution of the body, and the soul's departure from it 
(2 Cor. V. 8), while the only true death, the death 
intended in Gen. ii. 17, is the dreadful departure 
of the soul from God. 

Cro over this Jordan, There is here a double 
definition of Israel's future possession that should 
be carefully noted. First, there is the land beyond 
the Jordan, that is, between the Jordan and the 
Mediterranean Sea, which was the land originally 
promised to Abraham (Gen. xii. 7). 

Then, secondly, there is the larger territory, 
^^ Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread 
upon^ that have I given you^ as I said unto Moses^ 



12 COMMENTARY ON 

(z.6., in Ex. xxiii. 81}, from the wilderness and this 
Lebanon even unto the great river ^ the river Euphra- 
tes, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great 
sea toward the going down of the sun^ This sec- 
ond definition takes in the whole country from 
the Euphrates to the Mediterranean, a territory 
six times as large as the tract between the Jordan 
and the sea. The smaller tract, which we call 
Palestine or Canaan, was to be, so to speak, the 
" adytum," or sacred centre of the holy nation, 
while, according to their faith and faithfulness, 
they should extend their sway to the limits of 
the larger district, southward to the Red Sea, and 
northward and eastward to the Euphrates. The 
latter boundaries were reached in the days of 
David and Solomon. Joshua was simply to lead 
Israel into their central home, where they were all 
to be settled, except the tribes of Reuben and Gad, 
and the half tribe of Manasseh. These were to 
settle east of the Jordan, by a permission granted 
to their earnestness of petition, and not according 
to the original command of God. A careful read- 
ing of Numbers xxxii. will show that this excep- 
tional treatment of Reuben, Gad, and one half 
Manasseh, was, like the establishment of the king- 
dom afterward (1 Sam. viii. 7), and the building 
of the temple (2 Sam. vii. 7), an action not ordered 
by God, but permitted to the importunity of the 
people. All these three actions proved disastrous. 
The settlement of Reuben, Gad, and one half 
Manasseh east of Jordan exposed them to early 



JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 13 

4 From the "wilderness and this Lebanon even unto 
the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the 
Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down 
of the sun, shall be your coast. 

iDJury from enemies and broke up the national 
unitj^ the establishment of the kingdom made the 
people to seek foreign alliances and introduce for- 
eign manners, and the building of the temple 
turned their religion from its simple channels into 
a pompous and gorgeous externalism, encouraging 
wealth and display among the people, and destroy- 
ing the heart-piety of the nation. 

Vek. 4. This Lebanon. Lebanon (strictly Anti- 
Lebanon, yet the same system of mountains) was 
in sight from the camp at Shittim. Hence the 
demonstrative ''this." [It is possible that "this" 
may refer to the desert and Lebanon as one line.] 
The line from the desert, say at Akabah on the 
Red Sea to Lebanon, north and south, is taken as 
a base line, and then the country east to the Eu- 
phrates is given, and afterward that west to the 
sea. It is the former (from the base line to the 
Euphrates) that is called the land of the Hittites. 
It is true that some Hittites lived west of the Jor- 
dan (Gen. xxiii. 3), but the bulk of this important 
people dwelt between Damascus and the Euphra- 
tes, as we find by the lately discovered chronicles 
of the Assyrian monarchs. They are spoken of as 
the Khatti^ a formidable people against whom the 
first Tiglath Pileser (about B.C. 1180) Avaged war. 
Their territory, it is probable, extended at one 
time as far east as Lake Urumiyeh. They were, 



14 COMMENTARY ON 

5 There shall not any man be able to stand before 
thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I 
will be with thee : I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

6 Be strong and of a good courage : for unto this 
people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land 
which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 

doubtless, the most warlike, formidable, and ex- 
tended of all the Canaanitish races. In the 
Egyptian records we find them in the time of 
Sethos (say B.C. 1325) near the Orontes. 

Ver. 5. There shall not any man he able to stand 
hefore thee^ &c. The promise, given (Deut. xi. 
25) to all the people as God's holy nation, is here 
given to Joshua as its head. So also the words, 
used to all Israel by Moses (Deut. xxxi. 6), and 
afterward to Joshua personally (Deut. xxxi. 8), 
are here repeated to Joshua for his encouragement. 
The apostle shows (Heb. xiii. 5) that every child 
of God may apply such a promise directlj^ to him- 
self. The principles of God's government are 
always the same, however much the local details 
may change. 

Ver. 6. Be strong aiid of a good courage. There 
is very little difference in the meanings of these 
two words. We might refer the former to strength, 
and the latter to the firm stand which is the result 
of strength. We should be led to suppose from 
the repetition of these words that Joshua was by 
nature timid or diffident (Deut. xxxi. 7, 23 ; Josh. 
i. 6, 7, 9). The immense responsibility, now placed 
upon his shoulders through the death of Moses, 
began to be felt. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. T. 15 

7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that 
thou mayest observe to do according to all the law 
which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not 
from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest 
prosper whithersoever thou goest. 

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy 
mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, 
that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is 
written therein : for then thou shalt make thy way pros- 
perous, and then thou shalt have good success. 

9 Have not I commanded theeV Be strong and of a 
good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: 
for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou 
goest. 

10 T Then Joshua commanded the officers of the 
people, saying, 

Ver. 7-9. It would require strength and cour- 
age to observe strictly God's law before so great a 
people, and then agam a strict observance of that 
law would make him prosperous and wise in action. 
It is no cursory look at God's written word that is 
required, but a meditating therein day and night 
(comp. Ps. i. 2), that needs the courage and con- 
fers the success. Fear and dismay at one's enemies 
are for ever gone under this spiritual regimen. 

n. Joshua's Preliminary Preparations for Crossing 
Jordan. (Ver. 10-18, and chap. ii. 1-24.) 

1. General Ord-ers. 

Ver. 10. The officers of the people. The people 
of Israel had officers (shoterim) over them when 
in Egypt (Ex. v. 6, 19). From Num. xi. 16, we 
gather they were elders also, men selected in each 
tribe and family for their years and experience. 
The "seventy" (Num. 1. c.) were selected from 



16 COMMENTARY ON 



11 Pass through the host and command the people, 
saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye 
shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land 
which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. 

12 If And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, 
and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, 
saying, 



these as the special assessors of Moses. In the 
semi-patriarchal condition of Israel, these men 
were probably recognized without any uniform 
method of election. Joshua moves the great host 
through their agency. 

Vee-. 11. Pass through the host. Lit., '' Pass 
over in the middle of the camp." It implies per- 
sonal contact with all parts of the vast host. 

Victuals. Heb., '' zedah," which is.foodfor a jour- 
ney. On the sixteenth day of Nisan the manna, 
that had been their miraculous food for forty years, 
was to cease (chap. v. 12). Between that time 
and their /i^W supply from the land of Canaan there 
would be an interval of scant supply. This present 
provision was for that emergencj^. If this order was 
given on the seventh of Nisan, it was given more 
than a week before the manna ceased, and would 
be a token of that coming fact, and, in the sequel, 
a helper to their faith. The verse may, therefore, 
be thus paraphrased: " Prepare you victuals, for in 
a few days you shall cross Jordan and enter your 
own land, where the manna, your wilderness-bread, 
shall cease, and you will need your own prepared 
supply." This preparation of victuals was thus 
itself an exercise of their faith. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 17 

13 Eemember the word which Moses the servant of 
the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God 
hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 

Within three days. They crossed on the tenth 
day of Msan (chap. iv. 19). Hence this order is 
given on the seventh of the month. As the spies 
returned to the camp before the people crossed 
(chap. ii. 23), and as these spies had been three days 
(z.6., parts of three days) in the mountain west of 
Jordan (chap. ii. 22), they must have been sent out 
by Joshua on the sixth of the month, although the 
story of their expedition is not given until after 
this account of the command issued on the seventh. 

Which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. 
Lit., ''Jehovah your God." It is important that 
Israel should bear in mind, at the very beginning 
of their occupation of the land, that they did 
not possess it in their own right or by their own 
might, but received it as a gift from God. This is 
the true basis of all human possession, a knowledge 
of which will tend to make us humble and satisfied, 

Vee. 13. The word which Moses the servant of 
the Lord commanded you. The record is fouud in 
Num. xxxii. 20-28, and Deut. iii. 18-20. It was 
necessary to remind the two and a half tribes of 
the arrangement made ; for the same love of ease 
which prompted them at first to ask for the land 
east of Jordan, might tempt them to be lax in 
keeping their engagement to help their brethren. 

This land^ i.e.^ the land on which Joshua stood 
when he spake, east of the Jordan. 



18 COMIVIENTAIIY 0:N' 

14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall 
remain in the laud which Moses gave you on this side 
Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, 
all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 

15 Until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as 
lie hath f/icen you, and they also have possessed the land 
w^hich the Lord your God giveth them: then ye shall 
return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, 
w^hich Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side 
Jordan toward the sun-rising. 

Ver. 14. On this side Jordan. Lit., "beyond 
Jordan." (See on ver. 15.) 

Armed, A peculiar Hebrew word, used of Israel 
at the exodus (Ex. xiii. 18), and also in Josh. iv. 
12, and Judges vii. 11, and supposed by some to 
mean '' arranged in ranks of five," but better un- 
derstood as meaning primarily " girded." 

All the mighty men of valour. That is, all who 
could be spared from the equally necessary duty of 
protecting the wives, little ones, and cattle on the 
east side. In chap. iv. 13, we see that forty thousand 
of these two and a half tribes passed over ; but from 
Num. xxxvi. 7, 18, 34, we find that the warriors of 
these tribes were 110,580 ; so that over seventy thou- 
sand must have remained to guard their country. 
This was not consulting their ease, and hence was 
no breach of their contract. Yet the necessity of 
leaving seventy thousand warriors behind may be 
quoted as one of the evils attending upon their 
original desire to settle outside of Canaan. 

Ver. 15. On this side Jordan totvard the sun- 
rising. Lit., " Beyond Jordan toward the sun- 
rising," i.e.^ beyond, as viewed from the promised 
land. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. I. 19 

16 If And they answered Joshua saying, All that 
thou commandest us, we will do, and whithersoever 
thou sendest us, we will go. 

17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all 
things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the Lord 
thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 

18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy com- 
mandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all 
that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: 
only be strong and of a good courage. 

Ver. 16-18. These two and a half tribes show 
a very praiseworthy zeal, and a desire to sustain 
the courage of Joshua. (See note on ver. 6.) 
They were faithful to their word. (See chap. xxii. 
1-6.) 



20 COMMENTAEY OK 



CHAPTER II. 

2. The Spies. 

1 And Joshua the son of Xun sent out of Shittim 
two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, 
even Jericho. And they went, and came into an har- 
lot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 

Ver. 1. Shittim. The full name is (Num. 
xxxiii. 49) Abel-hash-Shittim. The shittah is a 
species of acacia-tree, of which several varieties 
are found in Egypt and the neighboring lands. 
Abel-hash-Shittim is literally " meadow of the aca- 
cias." From these acacia-trees the gum-arabic is 
obtained. The Arabs give the name of Seyal to 
the species which is most abundant in the Pales- 
tine region. It is a thorny tree and grows in thick- 
ets. The place Shittim doubtless derived its name 
from their abundance. Shittim was situated on 
the east side of the Arabah (Num. xxii. 1, Arhoth 
Moah^ or '' plains of Moab "), close under the Moab 
mountains, probably at the debouchure of the 
Wady Hesban into the plain, about five miles from 
the Jordan. The Arabah (now El-Ghor) is here 
about thirteen miles wide, the eastern heights aver- 
aging five miles, and the western averaging eight 
miles from the river. Under the mountains the 
plain is green, and was probably more so in ancient 



JOSHUA, CHAP. II. 21 

times ; but out toward the river it is dry and ster- 
ile, except where the dense verdure along the 
course of the Jordan irself makes an exception. 
Shittim was the head-quarters of the host of Israel 
during the attempt of Balak to curse Israel. (Comp. 
Num. xxii. 1, and xxv. 1.) They doubtless abode 
there a long time, to rest and prepare the host after 
the contests with Sihon, with Og, and with the Mid- 
ianites. It was from Shittim that Moses went up 
to the top of Pisgah and died (Deut. xxxiv. 1). 
In Num. xxxiii. 49, we find that the encampment 
stretched from Beth-jesimoth to Shittim. Now if 
Beth-jesimoth is rightly placed by Kiepert, Van de 
Velde, and others near the spot where the Jordan 
enters the Dead Sea, then the host of Israel may 
be considered as occupying all the south side of 
Wady Hesban from the hills to Jordan, a distance 
of five miles, their more compact desert order being 
altered for the emergency. 

Two men. Two, for mutual counsel and support. 
The Saviour sent out his disciples two and two. 
One of these men was probably Salmon, the son of 
Nahshon, prince of Judah, who afterward married 
Rahab. (See Num. ii. 3, Ruth iv. 20, and Matt. i. 5.) 
It is likely that the spies would be taken from the 
leading men of Israel, as in the former instance, 
thirty-eight years previously ; and Salmon's proba- 
ble age would agree with the statement that these 
spies were young men (Josh. vi. 23). 

To spy secretly. The words in Hebrew are 
"spies, secretly saying." That is, Joshua gave 



22 COMMENTARY ON 

2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Be- 
hold, there came men in hither to-night of the children 
of Israel, to search out the country. 

them secret instructions, not letting the host know 
aught about it, lest they might spread information 
of the fact to the marring of the plan. 

The land^ even Jericho, Rather, " the land and 
Jericho." They were especially to inspect Jericho, 
but also to notice the condition of the land gener- 
ally. Jericho lay about six miles west of the Jor- 
dan, near the prolific fountain of Ain es-Sultan. 

A harlot'' s house. Their going to such a house 
would prevent observation, they might suppose. 
And, moreover, it was probably very near the gate 
they entered, for we know the house was partly 
built on the town-wall (Josh. ii. 15). 

Ver. 2. The king of Jericho. From the enumer- 
ation in chap. xii. we see there were at least thirty- 
one kings in Canaan. This would not give a 
territory much over ten miles square to each. 
The king of Jericho would naturally hold sway over 
the lower Jordan valley, west of the river, his 
territory being bounded on the west by the lime- 
stone heights, of which Kuruntul is most conspic- 
uous. The region near the fountain is to-day very 
green and fertile. A few Arab houses, and a ruined 
castle called Eriha or Er-Riha, may be considered 
the sorry representation of the famous Jericho. 

Behold^ there came men in hither to-night. The 
speed with which the news reached the king 
shows, what we should naturally expect, that the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. II. 23 

3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, 
Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are 
entered into thine house: for they be come to search 
out all the country. 

4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, 
and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist 
not whence they loere : 

5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of 
the gate, when it was dark, that the men w^ent out: 
whither the men went, I wot not: pursue after them 
quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 

greatest vigilance was used against the vast host of 
Israelites that threatened the border. A great ter- 
ror had seized upon the Canaanitish kings, as they 
knew that this strange and numerous people, who 
had for forty years been dwelling in the southern 
desert, and regarding whom they had heard such 
stories of wonder, was about to move upon them 
and invade tlieir land. (See ver. 9-11.) The only 
safety could be in the most thorough vigilance. 

Ver. 3. For they he come to search out all the 
country. The king takes for granted that Rahab 
is ignorant of the true object of the two men, and 
is therefore wholly unprepared for her ruse. This 
makes her task the easier. 

Ver. 4, 5. I wist noty&c. Rahab's lie is not to 
be defended. She was ignorant of the moral ini- 
quity of a lie, as she was probably of that of 
her own style of life. The depravity of Canaan 
had certainly lowered the standard of morality in 
the minds of all ; but this should not lead us to 
justify Rahab, however much the flagrancy of her 
offence be modified. God regarded her faith and 
overlooked her lie, as in the case of Jael. 



24 COMMENTARY ON 

6 But' slie had brought them up to the roof of the 
house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she 
had laid in order upon the roof. 

7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jor- 
dan unto the fords : and as soon as they which pursued 
after them were gone out, they shut the gate. 

Ver. 6. Hid them ivith the stalks of flax. Lit., 
"buried them in the flax of wood." The word 
translated ''hid" is entirely different from the 
word so translated in the fourth verse. This 
verb, taman^ signifies a hiding by putting down 
under something. On the house-top (the flab roof 
of an oriental house) Rahab had piles of woody 
flax^ or flax-stalks, and under these she put the 
two young men. 

Ver. 7. The men^ i.e.^ the messengers of the 
king. 

The ivay to Jordan unto the fords. The Jordan 
has several fording-places over against Jericho, all 
of which, however, are impassable when the river is 
full. At this time the river ivas full (chap. iii. 15). 
Hence, we may suppose the Jericho people felt 
tolerably secure against any immediate attack from 
the Israelites. The Arabs swim across the river ; 
but, owing to the great swiftness of the current, it 
is not an easy matter. Swimming across for an 
armed host would be impossible. The river is 
from eighty to one hundred feet wide at this part. 

They shut the gate. A mark of time. (Comp. 
ver. 5.) The time of gate-shutting would naturally 
be when day-light was entirely past, say at seven 
o'clock in the evening at the season indicated in 



JOSHUA, CHAP. II. 25 

8 T And before they were laid down, she came up 
unto them upon the roof; 

9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord 
hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen 
upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint 
because of you. 

the narrative. Rahab had represented the young 
men as leaving about gate-shutting time, that is, 
just before the messengers arrived. The messen- 
gers hurry away, and pass out the gate exactly at 
gate-shutting. Jericho may have had only one gate 
(like Osiout, the capital of Upper Egypt, to-day) ; 
or '' the gate " may mean the particular gate in 
question, i,e,^ that on the side toward the Jordan. 

Vee.. 8. Laid down^ ^.^., to sleep, after leaving 
their hiding-place under the flax. They would lie 
down to sleep on the flat roof, according to oriental 
custom. 

Ver. 9. I know that the Lord. Lit., '' I know 
that Jehovah." Rahab here shows that she had 
watched the course of God with Israel, and had 
been convinced that Israel's God, Jehovah, was the 
only true God, and had prepared her heart for his 
providential dealings, which now meet her in 
mercy. Her description of the effect of Israel's 
history upon the people of Canaan gives us a 
graphic idea of the consternation which the stu- 
pendous facts of Israel's wilderness life had pro- 
duced upon surrounding nations. The people of 
Canaan especially were agitated, as they knew that 
they would be the direct objects of attack. 

Faint, Heb., '' melt," as in Ex. xv. 15. So in 
2 



26 COMMENTARY OK 

10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the 
water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of 
Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the 
Amorites that wei^e on the other side Jordan, Sihon 
and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 

11 And as soon as we had heard these things^ our 
hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more 
courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord 
your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth 
beneath. 

12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the 
Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will 
also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give 
me a true token : 

13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my 
mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that 
they have, and deliver our lives from death. 

ver. 24. Comp. chap. vii. 5, for the fuller expres- 
sion, but with another Hebrew verb. It betokens 
extreme discouragement. 

Ver. 10. The two events that signalized the 
beginning and the end of Israel's course from 
Egypt to Canaan are mentioned by Rahab as 
equally well known to the Canaanites. Doubtless 
all between was also well known. 

Ver. 11. Melt, A different Hebrew word from 
that translated ''faint " in ver. 9, but having about 
the same signification. 

Courage. Lit., ''breath" or "life." 

For the Lord your Grod^ he is Grod, This is 
not the conclusion the Canaanites came to, but 
that to which Rahab came. She argued from Is- 
rael's guidance and from Canaan's fear. 

Ver. 12. Rahab's request shows her perfect con- 
fidence in the taking of Jericho by Israel, and also 
her tender regard for her own kindred. Her faith 



JOSHUA, CHAP. II. 27 

14 And the men answered her. Our life for yours, if 
ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when 
the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal 
kindly and truly with thee. 

15 Then she let them down by a cord through the 
window: for her house was upon the town-wall, and 
she dwelt upon the wall. 

16 And she said unto them. Get you to the moun- 
tain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves 
there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and 
afterward may ye go your way. 

in Jehovah had, doubtless, revived affections that 
her course of life may have marred. 

A true token. Lit., ''a sign of truth," i.e.^ a 
promise under oath, which would assure her of 
its truth, and make her confident of their faithful- 
ness. 

Ver. 14. If^ ji/e utter not this our business. That 
is, '' if ye make not known the object of our visit." 

J)eal kindly and truly with thee. Lit., '' do to 
thee mercy and truth ; " i,e,^ do thee the favor 
asked and keep our pledge. 

Ver. 15. This anticipates verses 16-21, for we 
cannot suppose the conversation there given oc- 
curred while she was at the window and the men 
below on the ground. 

Ver. 16. The mountain would be Kuruntul or 
Quarantana, only two miles away westward. This 
mountain rises precipitously from the plain, a wall 
of rock, twelve hundred feet high, full of caverns, 
in some one of which the spies may have hid them- 
selves. The mountain gets its present name from 
a late tradition that it was the scene of our Lord's 
forty days' fasting. 



28 COMMENTARY ON 

17 And the men said unto her, We loill he blameless 
of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 

18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt 
hind this line of scarlet thread in the window which 
thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy 
father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy 
father's household home unto thee. 

19 And it shall be, tliat whosoever shall go out of 
the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall 
he upon his head, and we will he guiltless: and who- 
soever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall 
he on our head, if any hand be upon him. 

20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will 
be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to 
swear. 

21 And she said, According unto your words, so he 
it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and 
she bound the scarlet line in the window. 

Three days. See note on cliap. i. 11. 

Ver. 17. They wish to secure their own word 
by making the way plain to its performance : only 
her remissness will prevent its accomplishment. 

Ver. 18. This line of scarlet thread. Rather 
"the cord of this crimson thread," ix.^ made of 
crimson thread. Crimson is a color easily dis- 
tinguishable at a distance, and therefore would be 
an appropriate color for the object designed. It 
was the very cord by wliich she let them down, 
as we see by the demonstrative " this." Is the 
thought, which many have expressed here, too 
strained, that this crimson cord of salvation, sav- 
ing both the spies and Rahab's family, represented, 
in this strangely typical history, the saving blood 
of our Lord Jesus ? The analogy between this and 
the paschal blood is observable. 

Ver. 21. According unto your words. She would 



JOSHUA, CHAP. II. 29 

22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, 
and abode there three days, until the pursuers were 
returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all 
the way, but found them not. 

23 1[ So the two men returned, and descended from 
the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua 
the son of Nun, and told him all things that befeU 
them: 

24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord 
hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all 
the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. 

bind the crimson cord in the window on the wall, 
visible to Israel's army, as it encamps before the 
town ; she would, moreover, bring her entire family 
into the house, and she would keep the whole mat- 
ter a profound secret. 

Ver. 24. These two spies act, as Caleb and 
Joshua had done thirty-eight years before (Num. 
xiii. 30, and xiv. 6-9). They took no note of Jeri- 
cho's great walls, and of her vigilant king, but of 
the Lord's preparation for Israel's victory. 



30 co:m]mektaky on 



CHAPTER III. 

m. Joshua's Ultimate Preparations for Crossing 
Jordan. (Ver. 1-13.) 

1 And Joshua rose early in the morning ; and they 
removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and 
all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they 
passed over. 

Ver. 1. Early in the morning of the day Pcfter 
the spies returned, the ninth of Nisan. 

Came to Jordan, The host moved from its line 
on Wady Hesban northward and westward to the 
river bank opposite Jericho. It was a movement 
of perhaps six miles for the most distant man in 
the host. The entu^e day is taken for tliis grand 
preparatory arrangement of two millions of people. 
At the Jordan they remain in position, and spend 
the night on the east side. The chronology of 
these three chapters I take to be this : — 

6th Xisan, Spies sent out. 

7th ,, Joshua's first command (chap. i. 11). 

8th ,, Spies return. 

9th ,, Movement from Shittim. 

10th ,, Crossing. 

By this scheme, the ''three days" of chap. i. 11, 
would be from the seventh to the tenth, and the 
*' three days " of chap. iii. 2, would be the same. 
The ''three days" of chap. ii. 16, 22, would be 



JOSHUA, CHAP. III. 31 

2 And it came to pass after three days, that the offi- 
cers went through the host; 

3 And they commanded the people, saying. When 
ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord yoar God, 
and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall 
remove from your place, and go after it. 

from the sixth to the eighth, the parts of three days 
being in the Orient called by the unqualified 
phrase ''three days." The spies would reach Jeri- 
cho and leave it on the same day in which they 
left the camp of Israel. 

Ver. 2. After three days. (See preceding note.) 
The absence of the article does not (as Keil sup- 
poses) preclude the reference to the ''three days" 
of chap. i. 11. Comp. Josh. vi. 3, 14, for a like 
instance. So also 1 Sam. x. 8, with xiii. 8, and 
Dan. i. 12, 16. 

Officers. (See note on chap. i. 10.) This pass- 
ing of the of5&cers through the host (see note on 
chap. i. 11) takes place the evening before the 
crossing, as we see by ver. 6, after the arrival of tlie 
host in position before the river. The orders given 
through these officers come, of course, from Josliua. 

Ver. 3. And they commanded the people. The 
one object of this special order was, that the host 
should be guided by the movement of the ark of 
the covenant, following it in their regular column 
at a distance of about a half mile. This may have 
been the distance usually observed in the wilder- 
ness encampments between the tents of Israel (ex- 
clusive of Levi) and the tabernacle, but the passage 
in Num. ii. 2, does not give us the distance, but 



32 COIVIMENTARY ON 

4 Yet there shall be a space between yoii and it, 
about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near 
unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must 
go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore. 

5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify your- 
selves : for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among 
you. 

only uses the expression, " far off," or, strictly, 
" over against." The people had been used to 
follow the pillar of cloud as their guide (Ex. xl. 
86, and Num. ix. 17). But now that guide is 
withdrawn, the desert life being over. The peo- 
ple, therefore, need a special command to regard 
the ark borne by the priests as their new signal of 
motion. 

The priests the Levites. (See Deut. xvii. 9, xxiv. 
8, xxxi. 9, 25, and Jer. xxxiii. 21.) This peculiar 
expression seems to emphasize the tribal character 
of the priests as against any attempt at leadership 
by other tribes. 

Vee.. 4. Two thousand cubits, (See preceding 
note.) This distance was made not as a mark of 
reverence to the ark, but that the ark might be 
so far advanced before the host as to be clearly 
seen by a great number. This reason is given in 
the text, '^ Come not near unto it, that ye may know 
the way ly which ye must go.^^ 

Ver. 5. Sanctify yourselves. After the first proc- 
lamation, carried through the host by the officers, 
that Israel should be guided by the movements of 
the ark, Joshua issues another, for Israel to sanctify 
itself, in readiness for a special manifestation of 
divine power on the next day. This sanctificatiou 



JOSHUA, CHAP. III. 33 

6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take 
Tip the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the 
people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, 
and went before the people. 

7 TT And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will 
I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that 
they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be 
with thee. 

8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the 
ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the 
brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in 
Jordan. 

is, of course, a ritual sanctification, such as is so 
constantly intended in the history of the Jewish 
economy. (For examples, see Ex. xix. 10, 22, 23 ; 
Lev. xxvii. 14, 16 ; Joel ii. 16.) It consisted of 
certain negative abstinences and positive purifica- 
tory rites, all which were, indeed, an emblem of 
inward purity, but had no necessary essential con- 
nection therewith. These rites were calculated to 
impress the mind and prepare the thoughts of 
Israel for any peculiar display of the divine glory 
in their behalf. 

Ver. 6. Here begins the record of a new day, 
the tenth of Nisan. Joshua gives the order for the 
priests with the ark to start, and adds (see ver. 
8), " When ye come to the brink of the waters of 
the Jordan, ye shall stand still at the Jordan." 
Their standing still would be the signal for the 
miracle, although Joshua may as yet have been 
ignorant of the issue. 

Ver. 7, 8. These parenthetical verses tell us of 
a second appearance of God to Joshua, probably 
during the preceding night. The first appearance 
2* c 



34 COMMENTAEY ON 



9 Tl" And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, 
Come hither, and hear the words of the Lokd your 
God. 



had taken place three days before, and is recorded 
in chap. i. 1-9. These appearances may have 
been like that recorded in chap. v. 13, when God 
assumed a human form, or they may have been in 
dreams. Indeed, we assume that they were appear- 
ances at all. They may have been, unmistakable 
suggestions from within, or audible words, or even 
some form of revelation by Urim and Thummim, 
of which we know so little. Still the probabilities 
are in favor of a visible appearance, from the pas- 
sage above referred to. 

In this interview God announces to Joshua that 
he would put him that day on the same high plane 
of respect before Israel that Moses had occupied. 
He was about to perform a stupendous miracle 
before Israel, under Joshua's guidance, of the same 
character as that at the Red Sea, which had so 
manifested both the glory of God and the head- 
ship of Moses over the people. The crossing of 
the Red Sea was to be renewed in the crossing 
of the Jordan. As yet probably both Joshua and 
the people supposed they would cross Jordan by 
fording. 

Ver. 9. When the priests had started with the 
ark, to move at least a half mile before Israel 
should follow, Joshua calls the "children of Is- 
rael " together ; that is, he summons their officers 
and representatives. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. in. 85 

10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the 
livhig God is among you, and that he will without fail 
drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hit- 
tites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Gir- 
gashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 

11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of 
all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 

12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the 
tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. 

13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of 
the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, 
the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of 
Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from 
the waters that come down from above ; and they shall 
stand upon an heap. 

Ver. 10-13. A grand evidence of God's guid- 
ing presence was to be given them, as was given 
their fathers at the Red Sea. As they had prob- 
ably seen the pillar of cloud depart from them, 
such a new sign was very important to sustain 
their faith. He points them to the ark already 
on its way ('' passeth over" = ''is now passing 
o^^r " before you to Jordan), and bids them select 
twelve men to represent the twelve tribes, for a 
purpose afterward to be disclosed. He further 
tells them that, when the priests' feet touch the 
Waaler that has overflowed on the lowest bank, 
the water of the river shall on one hand stand 
up as a hill, and the water on the other hand 
shall run off to the Dead Sea and disappear, thus 
leaving a dry bed of at least four miles in the 
river's length. 

Ver. 10. The living Grod. One who is active 
in all the works of nature and grace ; one who is 
not dead, like the idols of the heathen, or, we may 



S6 COMIVIENTAEY ON 

add, like the abstractions of the philosophers and 
thQ forces of the scientists. 

Canaanites^ &c. The Canaanites are first men- 
tioned, and the land is called the land of Canaan, 
because this special tribe bore the old ancestral 
name. We find from Gen. x. 15, that from Ca- 
naan, Ham's son, eleven nations had their origin : 
the Sidonians, Hittites, Jebnsites, Amorites, Gir- 
gashites, Hiyites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Ze- 
marites, and Hamathites. Six of these do not 
appear (by name) in Israel's Canaan ; to wit, the 
Sidonians, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, 
and Hamathites. The other five we find as in this 
list in our text ; to wit, the Hittites, Jebnsites, 
Amorites, Girgashites, and Hivites. The Canaanites 
(as a distinct tribe) may have been a mixed tribe, 
taking the ancestral name. The only tribe of this 
list not found in the tenth of Genesis is the " Per- 
izzites." These ma^ he the same as the Zernajij^s, 
as we find a city called Zemaraim in Hj^^mm 
(Josh, xviii. 22), and a Mount Zemaraim, ;^obably 
in the same vicinity (2 Chron. xiii. 4). We also 
find that the Perizzites occupied this portion of 
Palestine (Josh. xvii. 15 ; Judg. i. 4, 5). 

From Gen. xv. 19, 20, we see that four other 
tribes occupied, with these Canaanitish tribes, the 
region between Egypt and the Euphrates ; to wit, 
the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, and Rephaim, 
who may have been Ham's descendants by another 
son than Canaan, or may have been of an entirely 
different stock, Turanian for example, Of all these 



JOSHUA, CHAP. III. 37 

14 T[ And it came to pass, when the people removed 
from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests 
bearing the ark of the covenant before the people ; 

15 And as they that t-ear the ark were come unto 
Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark 
were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan over- 
fioweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 

tribes the Hittites seem to have waxed largest and 
strongest, and to have extended farthest northward 
and eastward. (See note on chap. i. 4.) 

The miraculous crossing of the Jordan was to be 
God's pledge to the Israelites that they should 
overcome the seven nations. 

Vee. 13. Shall he cut off. Read this whole pas- 
sage thus : ^' The waters of the Jordan shall be cut 
off, namely, the waters running down from above, 
and they (^.^., the portion from which these are 
cut off) shall stand up one heap." (Comp. Ex. 
XV. 8.) 



-^ ly. The Crossing. (Yer. 14 — chap. v. 1.) 

Ver. 14. The actual movement of the whole 
host here begins. 

Ver. 15. Jordan overfloweth. The Jordan has, 
at this part of its course, three distinct banks. 
Upon the first or lowest grows a dense thicket of 
bushes and trees ; on the second is but little growth 
of any kind, and on the third is the desert of the 
Arabah. The first bank is but a few inches above 
the water. The second bank is about six feet high. 
The third bank is fifty feet high. The river is 



38 COMMENTABY OK 

nearly a hundred feet wide, and about twelve feet 
deep. The following outline will help the reader 
understand this description. 




The outer banks are half a mile apart. Here 
the proportion in the outline fails. It will be at 
once seen by this outline that the entrance of the 
ark into the river could not be seen by Israel, for 
the high banks would prevent a view. They could 
only, as they approached the margin, see the water 
gone from the river-bed, and the ark standing in 
the middle. 

The words translated " overfloweth " mean " fiU- 
eth upon," and refer to the complete filling up of 
the river's bed, so that the water would appear upon 
tlie level which we have designated hj the words 
"green thicket." No greater overflow of the Jor- 
dan than this is known. But this overflow * of the 
lower level occurs every year in April and May. 

* The " swelling of Jordan " mentioned in Jer. xii. 5, xlix. 19, 
1. 44, is the same as " the pride of Jordan '' in Zech. xi. 3, and 
refers not to the waters overflowing, but to the rich green thicket 
and foliage of the river banks. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. III. 39 

16 That the waters which came down from above 
stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city 
Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came 
down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, 
failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over 
right against Jericho. 

Ver. 16. Very far from the city Adam, This 
should read, '' very far off at the city Adam ; " that 
is, very far from the crossing-place. Of the city 
Adam we know nothing, but Zaretan (or Zere- 
dathah, 2 Chron. iv. 17) is accurately described in 
1 K. iv. 12, as near Beth-shean and " under 
Jezreel." This must fix its position as far north 
as the Wady Mujeidah, which is forty-four miles 
north in a straight line from the place of crossing, 
and twice that distance by the windings of the 
river. Van de Velde's position at Kurn Sartabeh 
is entirely too far south. We must suppose that it 
took the host at least four hours to cross. As the 
Jordan runs with a current of six miles an hour, 
and is between ten and twelve feet deep, and as 
the spot where Wady-Mujeidah enters the Jordan 
is four hundred and fifty feet higher level than the 
crossing-place, a stoppage of the Jordan's flow at 
the crossing-place that would reach in its effects 
the Wady-Mujeidah. would only in the space of 
four hours make the river three feet deeper for the 
distance between the two extremities of the dis- 
turbance. Thus the wall of water on the north 
side of the crossing host would be, when at it.s 
greatest, but fifteen feet high. 



40 COMMENTAEY ON 

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant 
of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst 
of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry 
ground, until all the people were passed clean over 
Jordan. 

Ver. 17. (Comp. chap. iv. 10.) The ark seems 
to have taken its station close by the wall of water 
and in the middle of the river-bed, while the host 
of Israel passed over below, their right wing being 
two thousand cubits from the ark (ver. 4). The 
twelve men chosen from the tribes (ver. 12) would 
naturally remain somewhere in the vicinity of the 
ark, awaiting their special orders. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IV. 41 



CHAPTER IV. 

1 And it came to pass, when all the people were 
clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto 
Joshua, saying, 

2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of 
every tribe a man, 

Ver. 1. When all the people were clean passed 
over Jordan. In the Hebrew style, this protasis or 
preface, while only belonging to ver. 5 and the 
following verses, is placed before the statement of 
ver. 1-3. It is idiomatic. We should say, after 
these words, '' the Lord having spoken unto Joshua," 
&c., parenthetically, but the Hebrew uses the finite 
verb without parenthesis, '' that the Lord spake ^'^ 
&c., although this command of God to Joshua 
must have been given before Joshua's command to 
Israel in ver. 12 of the third chapter, and was 
probably part of the orders given in the divine 
interview recorded in chap. iii. 7, 8. It may be 
that some token was given to Joshua at the time 
for the accomplishment of this act, and that thus 
the command was virtually repeated. Such a sup- 
position would account for the words '' hence " and 
'' where the priests' feet stood^^^ instead of ^' thence " 
and " where the priests' feet shall stand," as the 
phrases would be if the command had been given 
only before the miracle. 



42 COMMENTAEY ON 

3 And command ye them, saying, Take yon hence 
out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where 
the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall 
carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodg- 
ing-place where ye shall lodge this night. 

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had 
prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a 
man: 

5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the 
ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, 
and take you up every man of you a stone upon his 
shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the 
children of Israel: 

6 That this may be a sign among you, that when 
your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 
What mean ye by these stones ? 

7 Then ye shall answer them. That the waters of 
Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of 
the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters 
of Jordan were cut off : and these stones shall be for a 
memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. 

Vee. 3. Twelve stones. These were only of such 
size as that one man could carry each several miles. 
A rude and small monument was to be made of 
them. 

Ver. 4. Now the twelve men are to know why 
they were selected. (Comp. chap. iii. 12.) They 
had probably waited on the east bank till now. 

Ver. 6. Before the arh^ ^.e., to the front of the 
ark, now standing at the base of the watery wall. 

Ver. 6. A sign among you. A memorial to be 
preserved in their new country, bj^ which coming 
generations should be reminded of God's miracu- 
lous care and guidance of the people. 

In time to come. Lit., "to-morrow." 

Ver. 7. These stones shall he for a memorial. 
The Oriental custom of throwing up a pile of stones 



JOSHUA, CHAP. TV. 43 

8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua com- 
manded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of 
Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to 
the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and 
carried them over with them unto the place where they 
lodged, and laid them down there. 

(or erecting one large stone, as the case may be) 
in commemoration of some important event stiU 
prevails, as any traveller in the East has had abun- 
dant opportunity to learn. The Scotch " cairn " is 
of like character, although generally marking a 
sepulchre rather than an event. For Bible in- 
stances like the one in our present passage, see 
Gen. xxviii. 18, xxxi. 46-48, xxxv. 14 ; Josh, 
xxiv. 26 ; 1 Sam. vii. 12. These stones, thus 
reared or piled, were counted sacred by the people 
of a land. A reference to this fact seems to be 
had in Isa. viii. 14. 

Vee,. 8. The place where they lodged. We see 
from ver. 19 that this was Gilgal. Gilgal means 
a ''rolling;" and we are told that this place re- 
ceived its name because the reproach of the new 
generation of Israel, that they were uncircumcised, 
was here rolled away. (See chap. v. 2-9.) There 
was another Gilgal six miles north of Bethel, con- 
nected with the Uves of Elijah and Elisha (2 Kings 
ii. 2). From the frequent appearance of Jiljilieh 
(the mod. equivalent) in the modern topograph)" 
of Palestine, we may see that there were several 
towns of the name of Gilgal, the name in these 
other instances referring to the rolling character of 
the ground. The places mentioned in Deut. xi. 



44 COMMENTARY ON 



9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of 
Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which 
bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there 
unto this day. 



30, and in Josh. xii. 23, xv. 7, are some of these. 
Josephus puts the Gilgal of this narrative six 
miles from the Jordan and one from Jericho. Later 
writers have put it two, five, and seven miles from 
Jericho. It is highly probable that it was directly 
en route between the crossing-place of Jordan and 
Jericho, but whether nearer to the one or the other 
we have no date to decide. It was probably on 
the Hne of Wady Kelt. 

Vee. 9. Set up twelve stones in the midst of Jor- 
dan. Why were these set up where the water of 
the river would cover them ? For with the words, 
"the midst of Jordan," as repeated seven times 
(chap. iii. 17, iv. 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 18), we can- 
not beheve the priests' place of standing with 
the ark was where they first touched the river 
(chap. iii. 13), as Keil alleges. The Heb., hethok^ 
means ''in the middle," and cannot refer to one 
side or bank of the river. Why, then, were these 
stones set up where the river would cover them ? 
They could scarcely have formed a monument high 
enough to overtop the twelve feet of water in the 
mid-channel, and so to be seen by those on the 
bank. They were hastily brought together, and 
probably formed, like those in Gilgal, a mere cairn. 
As they, therefore, could not be intended to re- 
mmd the passing generations of the crossing, may 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IV. 45 

10 IT For the priests which bare the ark stood in the 
midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that 
the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, 
according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and 
the people hasted and passed over. 

11 And it came to pass, when all the people were 

we not believe that their use is yet in the future, 
and that they may yet be laid bare as testimony to 
the minute accuracy of this Old Testament history? 
Have not Nineveh, Babylon, and their sister-cities 
been made by God's providence to do this same 
work? 

They are there unto this day^ i.e,^ the day of the 
writing. (Comp. Judg. i. 26.) There is no proof 
in the phrase, that it was well known at the day of 
writing. From chap. vi. 25, we may consider 
" this day " as not more than fifty years after the 
occurrence, perhaps much earlier. 

Ver. 10. According to all that Moses commanded 
Joshua. We are nowhere told that Moses gave 
any commands to Joshua regarding the details of 
the crossing of Jordan. The phrase refers to the 
general submission of Joshua to the divine direc- 
tion, and of the people to Joshua, in accordance 
with the command of Moses (Deut. xxxi. 3, 7). 

Hasted, The movement was a rapid one. God's 
miraculous works are connected with the rational 
use of man's faculties. ' The people were not to 
abuse God's favor by carelessness or delay. Their 
celeritj^ of movement was a token of their co-oper- 
ation with God's favor, in the great work before 
them. 



46 COIMIMENTABY 01^ 

clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed 
over, and the priests in the presence olthe people. 

12 And the children of Reuben, and the children 
of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over 
armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake 
unto them: 

13 About forty thousand prepared for war, passed 
over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of 
Jericho. 

14 ^ On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the 
sight of all Israel, and they feared him as they feared 
Moses, all the days of his life. 

15 And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, 

16 Command the priests that bear the ark of the 
testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. 

17 Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, 
Come ye up out of Jordan. 

Ver. 12, 13. Parenthetic yerses. (See notes 
on chap. i. 13, 14.) 

Prepared for war. Rather, "selected troops." 
(Comp. vi. 7.) 

Ver. 14. See on chap. iii. 7. 

Ver. 15-17. A special signal, such as we sup- 
posed at ver. 2, is given by God for Joshua to 
command the end of the miracle by the exit of the 
ark from the river's bed. It is not necessary to 
suppose a new appearance of God, or a vision, on 
each occasion when the phrase is used, " the Lord 
spake unto Joshua." 

Ver. 16. Arh of the testimony. In chap. iii. 3, 
11, 17, iv. 7, 18, the ark is called the ark of 
the covenant of Jehovah^ or the ark of the covenant 
of the Lord QAdon^, In chap. iii. 6, 8, 14, iv. 9, 
it is called simply the ark of the covenant. In 
chap. iii. 13, iv. 5, 11, it is called simply the ark 
of Jehovah, Here it is called the ark of the testi- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IV. 47 

18 And it came to pass, when the priests that bare 
the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out 
of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' 
feet were hfted up unto the dry land, that the waters 
of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over 
all his banks, as they did before. 

mony. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, it 
is generally styled ''the ark of the testimony ,^^ It 
is the name first given to it (see Ex. xxv. 16, 
21, 22), as containing the ''testimony," or "two 
tables of testimony" (Ex. xxxi. 18), written with 
the finger of God. In Deuteronomy, the usage 
appears to call it " the ark of the coveiiant^^^ as 
carrying the testimony on which God's covenant 
with his people was based. This covenant wa^ 
with God, as against any covenant with the Ca- 
naanites. (See Ex. xxxiv. 10-15, and compare 
withver. 27-29 of the same chapter.) In Deuter- 
onomy, when Moses addresses the people on ap- 
proaching Canaan, it is natural to emphasize the 
covenant^ and this is followed in Joshua. Only in 
this instance in Joshua is the ark called by its old 
title of "ark of the testimony." The ark was, as 
it were, the holy chest containing Israel's title-deed 
to Canaan, with the conditions annexed. It was 
the testimony of a covenant with God. (Comp. 
Josh. i. 7, 8.) 

Ver. 18. Lifted up. The word is translated 
"rooted out," in Job xviii. 14. It means, "to be 
torn or dragged away with difficulty," and here 
refers to the drawing of the feet out of the muddy 
bottom and sides of the river-bed. The river-bed 



48 COMMENTARY ON 

19 Tf And the people came up out of Jordan on the 
tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, 
in the east border of Jericho. 

20 And those twelve stones which they took oat of 
Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. 

21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, 
When your children shall ask their fathers in time to 
come, saying, What mean these stones? 

22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, 
Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. 

23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of 
Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as 
the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried 
up from before us, until we were gone over: 

24 That all the people of the earth might know the 
hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might 
fear the Lord your God for ever. 

had been made dry, only so far as that no running 
water flowed through it, but God had not carried 
the miracle so far as to turn the mud into arid soil. 
The " economy of miracles," as it is called, is to be 
seen in this. 

Ver. 19. Tenth day. The day for setting apart 
the paschal lamb (Ex. xii. 3). 

GrilgaL See note on ver. 8. 

In the east border of Jericho^ i,e,^ at the eastern 
edge of the territory under the sway of the King 
of Jericho. This would lead us to suppose that 
Gilgal was very near the Jordan. 

Ver. 20-24. See note on ver. 7. 

Pitch, Rather, " set up." 

Ver. 24. God intended that the miraculous cross- 
ing of the Jordan should show the people of the 
land that Jehovah (and not men) was dealing with 
them, and should beget in Israel a deep reverence 
for then' God, and a fear of disobeying his will. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. y. 49 



CHAPTER V. 

1 And it came to pass, when all the kings of the 
Amorites which xcere on the side of Jordan westward, 
and all the khigs of the Canaanites, which were by the 
sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of 
Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were 
passed over, that their heart melted; neither was there 
spirit in them any more, because of the children of 
Israel. 

Ver. 1. Amorites. The Amorites were probably 
the largest Canaanitish tribe in this portion of the 
lands of the children of Canaan, as the Hittites 
were the largest in the region of Lebanon and the 
Euphrates. Hence they are here spoken of as rep- 
resenting in general the tribes in the mountain- 
region. The name '' Oanaanites " is also used here 
in like manner for all the tribes along the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, on the low plains. The other four 
tribes — the Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, and 
Jebusites — were of inferior importance ; and the 
Hittites in Palestine proper were but few in number. 
It will be remembered that Sihon's kingdom on the 
east of Jordan, conquered by Israel, was an Amor- 
itish kingdom (Num. xxi. 21-31.) 

Melted. As in chap. ii. 11. 

Spirit, Lit., " breath." The melting of the heart 
and the stoppiiig of the breath are most strong and 
natural expressions for utter despair. 



50 COMMENTARY ON 

V. Preparations for the Conquest. (Yer. 2 to 

chap, vii.) 

1. Circumcision and Passover, 

2 ^ At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make 
thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of 
Israel the second time. 

Ver. 2. The Lord's words here, a«id in ver. 9, 
may have been given to Joshua at one revelation 
after crossing the Jordan, the words in ver. 9 
being proleptic. 

Sharp knives. In Ps. Ixxxix. 43, '' tsur cherev " 
means ^' edge of the sword." Hence our trans- 
lators have translated the phrase here '' charvoth 
tsurim," ''swords of edges," or "sharp knives." 
But it is better, with our margin, to take '' tsur- 
im " in its ordinary meaning of '• stone " or '' rock," 
and translate the words bv " knives of stone." So 
the Septuagint has it. And in Herodotus (ii. 86), 
we see that the ancients used stone knives for such 
purposes. (Comp. Ex. iv. 25.) 

Circumcise again the ^children of Israel the sec^ 
ond time. They were all circumcised who came 
out of Egypt, but there had been no circumcis- 
ing since. The ''second time" only means that 
once they had been a circumcised people. It does 
not mean that this was a second general circum- 
cision. For this Hebrew use of the phrase, "sec- 
ond time," see Isa. xi. 11, where it refers to the 
first recovery of a people once before in their own 
land. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. Y. 51 

3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circum- 
cised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 

4 And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise : 
All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, 
even all the men of war died in the wilderness by the 
way, after they came out of Egypt. 

5 Now all the people that came out were circum- 
cised; but all the people that were born in the wilder- 
ness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them 
they had not circumcised. 

6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in 
the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war 
which came out of Egypt were consumed, because they 
obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the 
Lord sware that he would not shew them the land 
which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would 
give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 

7 And their children, whom he raised up in their 
stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncir- 
cumcised, because they had not circumcised them by 
the way. 

Ver. 3. Hill of the foreslcins. Heb., '' Gibrah 
haaraloth." Identical with Gilgal, as we see by 
ver. 9. 

Ver. 4-7. The fact is stated here, that no child 
was circumcised in the desert, but the reason is not 
stated. Some deny the fact, and say the word 
'^ all" in ver. 5 must not be pressed, that it was 
only all who were horn after the sinful unbelief and 
rebellion^ for which God made them dwell thirty- 
eight years longer in the desert, and hence that 
the lack of circumcision was part of the frown of 
God. But this seems very forced. We should 
have expected some allusion to it in the narrative, 
had this been the case. We, therefore, take the 
fact literally, and consider the ordinary reason sup- 
posed a good one, that the unsettled style of life 



62 COMMENTARY ON 

8 And it came to pass when they had done circnm- 
cismg all the people, that they abode in their places in 
the camp, till they were whole. 

9 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have 
I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from oif you : 
Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto 
this day. 

10 1[ And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, 
and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the 
month at even, in the plains of Jericho. 

in the desert exempted them, by some special per- 
mission of God not recorded. 

Ver. 8. All the people^ i.e,^ who needed circum- 
cision. Those men who had left Egypt under 
twenty years of age, and who were now over forty, 
had been circumcised in Egypt. And we may esti- 
mate these at three hundred thousand, an ample 
force to defend the camp while the rest were dis- 
abled, and to perform the rite. So there was no 
remarkable exposure to the enemy, as many have 
supposed. 

Ver. 9. The reproach of Egypt. That is, the 
reproach which Egypt cast upon Israel (as in Ex. 
xiv. 3), that they were entrapped in the desert. 
(Comp. Ex. xxxii. 12 ; Num. xiv. 13 ; Deut. ix. 28 ; 
also Zeph. ii. 8.) The reproach was rolled away by 
their entry upon the promised land and celebrating 
the covenant, now fulfilled in its first instalment, 
by the adoption of its mark. 

Ver. 10. On the fourteenth day of the month. 
Three days after the circumcision, the passover is 
kept, a second solemn acknowledgment and con- 
firmation of the covenant, whose glorious issues 
they were now beginning to enjoy. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. V. 53 

11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on 
the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes and 
parched corn in the self-same day. 

12 If And the manna ceased on the morrow after 
they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had 
the children of Israel manna any more ; but they did 
eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. 

13 If And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jeri- 
cho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, 
there stood a man over against him with his sw^ord 
drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and 
said unto him, Artihovi for us, or for our adversaries? 

Ver. 11» The country in which they encamped 
at Gilgal is arid and barren. So it is not till they 
had been there five days that they obtained some of 
HdlQ produce of the land, perhaps by a foraging raid. 

Old corn. Rather, ''produce." So in the next 
verse. 

Ver. 12. The manna ceases on the sixteenth of 
Nisan, and now the provision prepared on the east 
of Jordan stands them in good part, until thej^ can 
obtain a full supply from their new land. (See note 
on chap. i. 11.) 

2. The Special Appearance of God. 

Yer. 13. Was hy Jericho. The occasion of this 
vision must have been a time of retirement on the 
part of Joshua, and very probably a time of prayer. 
The place may have been near Gilgal, as the head- 
quarters of Israel seem to have continued at Gilgal 
during all the remarkable siege of Jericho. " Near 
Gilgal " would be equivalent to '- by Jericho." A 
warrior suddenly appears before Joshua. Israel's 
hero instantly challenges him. The doubting char- 



54 COMMENTARY ON 

14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of 
the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his 
face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, 
What saith my lord unto his servant? 

15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto 
Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place 
whereon thou standest is holy: and Joshua did so. 

acter of his question suggests the notion that it 
was in the night-time, and that therefore Joshua 
could not readily discern whether it was an Isra- 
elite or not. 

Ver. 14. Lit., iVa^, but Z, prince of the host of 
Jehovah^ have now come, '' Prince of the host of 
Jehovah " would be understood by Joshua to be a 
ruler of angels. And therefore he immediately 
offers him obeisance. The worship is only such 
worship as one created being might offer another. 
He calls him '' my lord," which is not the title (in 
the Hebrew) he would have used if he had sup- 
posed the angel to be the Divine Angel, coequal 
with God. 

Ver. 15. Loose thy shoe^ &c. Now the command 
of the angel, the pronouncing of the ground holy 
where such an interview was held, and the likeness 
in all this to the interview of God with Moses at 
the bush, must have convinced Joshua that this 
was indeed God himself, and not the person of a 
created angel, that stood before him. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VI. 65 



CHAPTER VI. 

1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up, because of the 
children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 

2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given 
into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the 
mighty men of valour. 

Ver. 1. Merely parenthetical. 

Ver. 2. The Lord. Lit., '' Jehovah," the same 
as the prince of the host of the Lord^ in chap. v. 15. 
It is Jehovah-Jesus, the Lord of angels, '' the 
brightness of the Father's glory, the express image 
of his person " (Heb. i. 3). He appears as a war- 
rior, because he wishes to impress upon Joshua 
that he, the Lord, is fighting with Israel against 
Canaan. It is not Israel's war, but God's war, 
against a depraved and God-defiant people. (Com- 
pare the appearance of our Lord as against sinners, 
represented in Rev. xix. 11-16.) 

Ver. 2. I have given. Notice how often God 
repeats the thought to Israel that all their action 
against Canaan was as his agents, and not at all as 
of themselves. Vengeance or crtielty in their con- 
quest had no more place necessarily than the same 
qualities are necessarily found in a sheriff who 
executes a capital sentence. 



56 COMMENTABY ON 

3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, 
and go round about the city once : thus shalt thou do 
six days. 

4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven 
trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall 
compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow 
wdth the trumpets. 

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a 
long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the 
sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a 
great shout: and the wall of the city shall fall down 
flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight 
before him. 

Ver. 3-5. Once a day for six days the entire 
force of armed men, perhaps six hundred thousand 
men, was to march around the city, and with them 
seven * priests, bearing each a horn and blowing 
upon it, preceding the ark. On the seventh day 
the procession should march seven times around the 
devoted city, and then a long blast from the horns 
should be accompanied by a shout from the whole 
army, when the walls should sink upon themselves, 
and the army should march directly into the city, 
every man in a straight course from his standing- 
place. 

Vejb. 4. Trumpets of rarm^ horns. More truly, 
" shrill clarions." The word translated '' trum- 
pets " means a horn, as we see by ver. 5, where 

* The number " seven/' used here in the enumeration of priests, 
trumpets, days, and circuits, must have a special significance. Some 
consider it a combination of four (the earth's number) and three 
(the divine number), and thus representing God's reconcihng 
peace, i.e., the number of redemption. Some think that here is a 
reference to the seven great days of the world's history and the 
final judgment. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. yi. 67 

6 Tf And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, 
and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, 
and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' 
horns before the ark of the Lord. 

7 And he said unto the people. Pass on, and com- 
pass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before 
the ark of the Lord. 

8 If And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken 
unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the 
seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the 
Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of 
the covenant of the Lord followed them. 

9 If And the armed men went before the priests that 
blew with the trumpets, and the rere-ward came after 
the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the 
trumpets. 

the Hebrew word '' horn " is used. It was a horn 
that produced a loud, clear sound. The word 
translated " rams' horn " is the familiar word 
''jubilee," and refers originally to an exciting 
shrill clangor. Trumpet-sounds were tokens of 
the divine presence and power (Ex. xix. 16). 

3. The Fall of Jericho, 

Veb.. 7. Him that is armed. Rather, " the 
selected troops." (See on chap. iv. 13.) 

Ver. 8. Before the Lord, That is, " before the 
ark of the Lord." The ark was God's representa- 
tive, as the pillar of cloud had been previously. 

Ver. 9. The chalutz^ or " selected troops," went 
before the ark ; and the measseph^ or " massed 
troops," followed the ark. This special arrange- 
ment is omitted in the record of the Lord's com- 
mand in ver. 2-5, where for brevity's sake the 
orders are only generally stated. 
3* 



58 COMIVIENTARY ON 

10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, 
Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, 
neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until 
the day I bid you shout, then shall ye shout. 

11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going 
about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged 
in the camp. 

1 2 1[ And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the 
priests took up the ark of the Lord. 

13 And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' 
horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, 
and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went 
before them; but the rere-ward came after the ark of 
the Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the 
trumpets. 

14 And the second day they compassed the city 
once, and returned into the camp. So they did six 
days. 

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they 
rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed 
the city after the same manner seven times: only on 
that day they compassed the city seven times. 

16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when 
the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto 
the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the 
city. 

17 IT -A.nd the city shall be accursed, even it, and all 
that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot 
shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, 
because she hid the messengers that we sent. 

Ver. 10. In perfect silence the march was to 
continue, till the last circuit of the last day (ver. 
16). 

Ver. 11. The camp^ i.e.^ at Gilgal. 

Ver. 13. See on verses 4 and 9. 

Ver. 15. Early, To give time for the seven 
circuits. 

Ver. 17-19. These also are special directions, 
not recorded in ver. 2-5. (Comp. on ver. 9.) 

Accursed. Heb. " cherem." In Lev. xxvii. 28, 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VI. 69 

18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the ac- 
cursed thing, lest ye rud^Q yourselves accursed, when ye 
take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel 
a curse, and trouble it. 

19 But all the silver, a-nd gold, and vessels of brass 
and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall 
come into the treasury of the Lord. 

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with 
the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people 
heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted 
with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that 
the people went up into the city, every man straight 
before him, and they took the city. 



is the law of '' cherem," or the devoted thing. It 
implied an entire separation to the Lord : if of 
material property, by consecration to his service ; 
and if of persons, to death. Hence here, Rahab 
shall live^ is antithetic to the general " cherem." 

Ver. 18. '' Only do ye beware of the cherem^ 
lest ye make cherem^ and take of the cherem^ and 
put the camp of Israel to cherem.'^^ The last 
two clauses are an enlargement of the first two ; 
thus, '' Beware of the cherem^ so as not to ta-ke 
of the cherem^ lest ye make cherem^ by putting 
the camp of Israel to cherem.'''^ (Comp. Deut. 
viL 25, 26.) 

Ver. 19. Consecrated, Lit., "holiness." 
Veh. 20. The directions are followed. The 
priests make the long blast (yet only the word for 
the ordinary blowing is used here), the host hear 
and respond with a mighty shout, the walls fall in 
upon themselves, as if shaken by an earthquake, 
and the host march in, each man in a straight line 
from his standing -place. 



60 COMMENTARY ON 

21 And they utterly destroyed all that ivas in the 
city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and 
sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 

Ver. 21. The cherem^ so far as the persons in 
Jericho were concerned, was literally observed. It 
is a favorite objection to the morality of the Old 
Testament Scriptures, and hence to its teachings 
regarding God, that Israel thus slew men, women, 
and children in their conquest of Canaan. We 
have already called attention to God's constant use 
of Israel as his agent in this whole matter* He 
who would not be counted cruel in sending the 
pestilence and destroying a people, ought not to be 
charged with cruelty when he uses human agency 
in the same manner. So that the God of the Old 
Testament cannot be called a cruel God any more 
than the God of nature can be so accused. Such a 
teaching, therefore, regarding God is nothing 
against the Old Testament, or against the course 
of Israel as God's people. God's ways are above 
us. We cannot know his motives or his purposes. 
We must acknowledge his wisdom, and be still, 
knowing that he is God. He has revealed him- 
self as Love, and yet we know that he permits 
and ordains ruin and disaster among the children 
of men. But the Judge of all the earth does 
justly. In all this matter of Israel's conquest of 
Canaan, we must keep ever before us the mere 
agency of Israel throughout. The divine order 
permeates all they do. So there is no example 
here for men^ without orders from God direct. The 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VI. 61 

22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had 
spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and 
bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as 
ye sware unto her. 

23 And the young men that were spies went in, and 
brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, 
and her brethren, and all that she had ; and they 
brought out all her kindred, and left them without the 
camp of Israel. 

24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that 
was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the ves- 
sels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of 
the house of the Lord. 

25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and 
her father's household, and all that she had; and she 
dwelleth in Israel even unto this day ; because she hid 
the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 

26 If And Joshua abjured them at that time, saying, 
Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and 
buildeth this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation 
thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall 
he set up the gates of it. 



case is unique, and cannot constitute a precedent. 
(See Appendix.) 

Ver. 22. All that she hath. Like the " all that 
they have " of chap. ii. 13, this refers only to hu- 
man beings, not to goods. It is explained in the 
next verse as "- all her kindred," or, literally, " all 
her families ; " i.^., all the households belonging to 
her father's stock. 

Vek. 23. Without the camp. They could not 
enter until they had been ritually prepared as 
proselytes. 

Vek. 25. ^ven unto this day. (See on chap, 
iv. 9.) 

Ver. 26. The ruined site v^as to be a witness to 
succeeding generations of God's favor to his people, 



62 COMMENTARY ON 

27 So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was 
noised throughout all the country. 

and of his judgment upon sin. Jericho was given 
to Benjamin (chap, xviii. 21), and people dwelt 
there after this, before Hiel rebuilt it, as we see by 
Judg. i. 16, and iii. 13, as compared with Deut. 
xxxiv. 3. It was simply an unfortified, open town 
or straggling village ; and hence the Kenites, who 
would not dwell in fortified towns, were willing to 
abide there for a time (Judg. i. 16. Comp. Judg. 
iv. 11; 1 Chron. ii. 55; Jer. xxxv. 7, 10). The 
curse of Joshua was against any one who should 
rebuild Jericho as a fortification. Hence he speaks 
of '' foundation " and '' gates." 

In Ms first horn ; in his youngest son. "In" is 
used in Hebrew for " at the price or pay of." Thus, 
in Gen. xxix. 18, Jacob says, '' I will serve thee 
seven years in Rachel thy younger daughter ; " 
that is, at the pay of Rachel. So here, '' at the 
cost of his first-born." It is not said that all the 
man's children should die during the rebuilding, 
but it seems to be implied. Hiel, of Bethel, more 
than five hundred years afterward, dared the 
curse, and was punished accordingly (1 Kings 
xvi. 34). 

Ver. 27. By the crossing of Jordan and the 
taking of Jericho, under grand miraculous exhibi- 
tions of God's presence and guidance, Joshua's 
position as Israel's great captain was confirmed 
and his name feared by the people of Canaan. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VII. 63 



CHAPTER VII. 

YI. The Conquest. (Chap, vii.-xii.) 

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in 
the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the 
son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, 
took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord 
was kindled against the children of Israel. 

Thus far Israel had not gained aught by military 
prowess. Miraculous intervention had secured the 
crossing of the Jordan and the capture of Jericho. 
But now the conquest by their own arm (under 
God) was to begin. They had been vividly taught 
by the events of the preceding month to be trust- 
ful before God, and this necessary lesson having 
been given, they were now to go forward and con- 
quer the land for the Lord who sent them. But 
their conduct was very soon to show that a new 
teaching of God's severity against disobedience was 
necessary. They were to learn that their trust in 
God against their enemies was to be proportioned 
to their own obedience to God. 

1. The Repulse before Ai. 

Ver. 1. The children of Israel com7nitted a tres- 
pass. The whole nation is so connected with each 
family within it, that the sin of one family mars 
the progress of all. If one member suffer, all suffer 



64 COMMENTAEY ON 

2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which 
is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and 
spake unto them, saying, Go up and Yiew the country. 
And the men went up and viewed Ai. 

with it (Rom. xii. 26). God treats his people as 
one, because they are one. Nature testifies to the 
oneness of the race. Grace uses this nature in the 
constitution of the redeemed family of God. 

Committed a trespass. Lit., " deceived a deceit." 
Achan practised a deceit with regard to the cherem. 

Achan. He stands forth in sad conspicuity in 
the record in 1 Chron. ii. 7. He was fourth in 
descent from Judah, according to this list ; but as 
many names were left out of Jewish lists (names 
of unimportant men or of those who died quite 
early in life), we cannot be sure that there were 
only four generations between Achan and Judah. 
It was a member of the leading tribe (in point of 
size and birthright precedence) who first marred 
the symmetry and success of IsraellTcon quest. 

The anger of the Lord is his holiness outburn- 
ing against unrighteousness. See Ex. iv. 14, where 
the phrase is used toward Aloses, the friend of God 
(Ex. xxxiii. 11). In these anthropomorphic repre- 
sentations of God, we must divest the affections of 
all the sinful quahties they have in man. 

Ver. 2. A reconnoitring party are sent to ex- 
amine Ai, as the next important city to conquer 
on Israel's way to the very centre of the land, 
where they were to enter anew into solemn cove- 
nant with God. The host still encamp at Gilgal, 
stretching out over the plain to Jericho. Ai is 



JOSHUA, CHAP. vn. 65 

3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, 
Let not all the people go up; but let about two or 
three thousand men go up and smite Ai: and make not 
all the people to labour thither; for they are hut few. 

here mentioned as beside or near Bethaven, and 
east of Bethel. In 1 Sam. xiii. 5, Michmash is 
said to be east of Bethaven. In Hos. x. 5, the 
idol-calves of Bethel are called by a paronomasia 
the calves of Bethaven, which would indicate that 
Bethel and Bethaven were near together. Now 
the sites of Bethel and Michmash are identified 
beyond a doubt, Michmash being five miles south 
and east of Bethel, its longitude b^g less than 
three miles east of that of Bethel. Both Ai and 
Bethaven must lie somewhere between these two 
points, so that Michmash may be eastward of 
Bethaven, and Ai, which is near Bethaven, be 
eastward of Bethel. Van der Velde's identifica- 
tion of Ai with Tell el-Hajar, and of Bethaven with 
the ruins on the rocky height about a mile south- 
east of Bethel, and about a mile west of Ai, is 
undoubtedly correct. Tell el-Hajar is on the south- 
ern brow of the deep Wady el-Mutyah, and shows 
no other remains of antiquity than a broken cistern. 
The distance of Ai from Jericho is thirteen miles, 
and the route is along the base of Kuruntul, and 
then directly westward up the deep Wady el-Mut- 
yah. This wady forms a natural road into the 
heart of the country, 

Vek. 3. The spies return, come back from Ai, 
and advise that only a small band of two thousand 
or three thousand be sent against the city. They 



66 COMMENTAEY ON 

4 So there went up thither of the people about three 
thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 

5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and 
six men : for they chased them from before the gate 
even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going 
down, wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and 
became as water. 

6 \ And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the 
earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until 
the even-tide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust 
upon their heads. 

were, doubtless, full of what God had done at 
Jericho, with which Ai was a very small city in 
comparison, and it maj^ have been a commendable 
faith which prompted their report. Ai had but 
twelve thousand inhabitants in all (chap. viii. 25), 
and hence may not have had over three thousand 
fighting men. 

Ver. 4. The little detachment probably pro- 
ceeded up the Mutyah directly to the city gate, 
using no stratagem whatever. 

Ver. 5. Ahout thirty and six men. Why 
''about"? Perhaps some dangerously wounded 
were counted in the number. 

Unto Sheharim. 0\\ by translation, to the broken 
places^ {,e.^ to the steep broken sides of the Mutyah. 

And smote them in the going down, i.e.^ along the 
descent of the great wady toward Jericho. 

Melted. (See on chap. ii. 9, 11.) The people 
had trusted their success rather than God. So 
when success ends, they faint. 

Ver. 6. Joshua and the representative council 
of the Israelitish nation assume the attitude and 
condition of deepest grief and abasement before 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VII. 67 

7 And Joshua said, Alas! O Lord God, wherefore 
hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to 
deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? 
would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the 
other side Jordan I 

8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth 
their backs before their enemies ! 

9 For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the 
land shall hear of it^ and shall environ us round, and 
cut oif our name from the earth: and what wilt thou 
do unto thy great name ? 

the ark until the time of evening sacrifice. It 
would appear from this passage and from chap, 
viii. 33, that the tabernacle was not yet set up in 
the new land, but awaited the arrival at its perma- 
nent position. In this case the ark would be 
exposed to view. The parts of the ritual that 
would require the erection of the tabernacle were, 
doubtless, suspended. 

Ver. 7-9. There is a strange mingling of un- 
belief and of zeal for God in Joshua's cry. He 
suggests that God has intended to destroy his 
people, and wishes they had remained in the con- 
quered countries east of Jordan. He expects, 
also, saddest results from the defeat. But with all 
this, he shows a deep concern for the honor of 
God's name, which he fears has been compromised. 
The greatest of saints break down under trial, 
and show how weak they are. God mercifully 
remembers they are dust, and bears with them 
tenderly. 

Ver. 7. Would to Ciod, The name of God does 
not appear in the Hebrew. It is simply "would 
that." 



68 COMMENTARY ON 



10 TT And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; 
"wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face V 

11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also trans- 
gressed my covenant which I commanded them: for 
they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have 
also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it 
even among their own stuff. 

12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand 
before their enemies, 6w^ turned their backs before their 
enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be 
with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from, 
among you. 



2. Achan^s Sin and Punishment, 

Ver. 10. The Lord's speech to Joshua at this 
time must have been in the presence of the elders. 
We may, therefore, suppose that it came through 
Urim and Thummim, and by the voice of Eleazar 
the high-priest. The rebuke in the words of the 
Lord is a strong one. The question is sharp. 

Ver. 11. Israel had both sinned in the theft and 
deceit of Achan, and had broken the covenant so 
solemnly made at Sinai and remembered at Gilgal. 
They had taken of the cherem^ they had stolen, 
they had deceived, they had made the cherem 
private property. In the Hebrew, the six allega- 
tions are connected together by the particle " gam " 
(also), five times repeated, giving great solemnity 
to the charge. 

Ver. 12. They were accursed. Lit., ''theyw^ere 
for cherem,''' They had identified themselves with 
cherem,, and so must suffer, so long as this identifi- 
cation should continue, for all that is cherem must 
be destroyed. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VII. 69 

13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify your- 
selves against to-morrow: for thus saith the Lord God 
of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of 
thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine ene- 
mies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among 
you. 

14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought ac- 
cording to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe 
which the Lord taketh shall come according to the 
families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall 
take shall come by households ; and the household 
which the Lord shall take shall come man by man. 

15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the 
accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that 
he hath : because he hath transgressed the covenant 
of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in 
Israel. 

Ver. 13. C/p, sanctify the people, '-'• Up " from 
the bowed attitude of humiliation and grief. For 
the sanctification, see on chap. iii. 6. 

Ver. 14. On the morrow would be the search 
for the offenders. That very evening they would 
make their solemn ritual preparation for the inves- 
tigation. The fearful nature of sin is shown most 
forcibly in this memorable scene. How can man 
make light of that which God thus stamps with 
his holy indignation and righteous judgments ? 

Ver. 15. The burning with fire was the most 
striking token of the consuming wrath of a holy 
God. (See Heb. xii. 29, as comp. with Heb. x. 27.) 

All that he hath. All his famity. (See on chap, 
vi. 22. See also ver. 26.) The family had, no 
doubt, been cognizant of Achan's crime, and had 
not revealed it, for in Deut. xxiv. 16, it is expressly 
declared by God that the children shall not be put 
to death for the fathers. 



70 COMMENTARY ON 

16 ^ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and 
brought Israel by their tribes ; and the tribe of Judah 
was taken: 

17 And he brought the family of Judah ; and he 
took the family of the Zarhites : and he brought the 
family of the Zarhites man by man: and Zabdi was 
taken : 

18 And he brought his household man by man; and 
Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of 
Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 



Folly. The word is used for a great wickedness. 
For the two elements of the crime see on ver. 11. 

Ver. 16. Joshua rose up early. Joshua, of 
course, arose from his prostrate position before the 
ark, and that evening sanctified the people. But 
no mention is made of this, as it was unnecessary. 
But the narrative passes over at once to the next 
day and its investigation. 

Ver. 16-18. The process here described was 
wrought, we may suppose, through the use of the 
Urim and Thummim (see Num. xxvii. 21), of 
which we know almost nothing in detail. The lot 
may have been used also. 

Zarhites^ i.e.^ the branch of the tribe of Judah, 
called from their ancestor, Zerah, the son of 
Judah. The tribe in Heb. is shevet ("rod" or 
•' stem"), and the family is mishpachah (" spread- 
ing"), but in ver. 17 the tribe of Judah is called 
the family of Judah, for, after all, the words are 
comparative words. Next to the family was the 
house, or bayith^ and then the individual man, or 
gever. 

Zabdi was, perhaps, the oldest of Achan's an- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. VII. 71 

19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I 
pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make 
confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast 
done, hide it not from me. 

20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said. Indeed [ 
have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus 
and thus have I done. 

21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Baby- 
lonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and 
a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted 
them, and took them, and behold, they are hid in the 
earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 

cestors then living, his grandfather, and thus the 
head of the bayith^ or house. Between Zerah and 
Zabdi, in this case, there must have been several 
generations omitted in the genealogy. (See on 
ver. 1.) 

Ver. 19. My S071. Joshua is tender, even when 
acting as a judge and executioner. 

Grive glory to the Lord. (Comp. John ix. 14.) 
A solemn form of adjuring an accursed man to 
confess. Confession is anticipating the discovery 
God will make of the crime, and thus is a tribute 
to his omniscience. 

Ver. 21. Babylonish garment. Heb., addereth 
shinar. The addereth was a large outer cloak. 
The Babylonish or Shinar goods were well known 
in ancient times throughout the East for their fine 
texture and rich embroidery. The figures of men 
and beasts, which some suppose were w^orked on such 
a garment, would of themselves make the article a 
forbidden one to a Jew. The Babylonian textures 
are spoken of by Arrian (vi. 29). The figure of 
a Babylonish king, of a period three hundred years 



72 COiVOIENTAP.Y ON 

22 T So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto 
the tent, and behold, it was hid in his tent, and the 
silver under it. 

23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, 
and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the chil- 
dren of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. 

21 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan 
the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and 
the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, 
and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his 
tent, and all that he had : and they brought them 
unto the valley of Achor. 

later than Achan, engraved on a large black stone 
in the British Museum, represents him clad in a 
large outer robe embroidered in a very elaborate 
and delicate pattern. 

Two hundred shekels of silver would equal about 
one hundred and twenty dollars of silver ; of course 
at that day worth probably twenty times what it is 
worth to-day. 

Wedge of gold. Lit., ''tongue of gold." This 
gold ornament of fifty shekels weight would be 
worth about two hundred and twenty dollars. 

The silver under it. That is, the tongue of gold 
was wrapped up in the Babylonish garment, and 
placed over the more bulk}^ silver. 

Ver. 23. Laid them out before the Lord. Lit., 
"poured them out before Jehovah," ix.^ poured 
them out of the cloth in which they carried them 
from the hiding-place. " Before Jehovah," is (as 
at chap. Y\. 8) " before the ark." 

Ver. 24. Achan's whole family (as guilty with 
him) and all his possessions are brought to the 
Valley of Achor. The valley received the name 



JOSHUA, CHAP. YII. 73 

25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? 
the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel 
stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, 
after they had stoned them with stones. 

from this scene (ver. 26). Achor means " troub- 
ling," and refers to the trouble given Israel by the 
taking of the cherem. (See chap. vi. 18.) There is 
also a paronomasia on Achan's name. Indeed, in 
1 Chron. ii. 7, Achan is called Achar^ or " troub- 
ler." Twice the prophets refer to this valley (Isa, 
Ixv. 10, and Hos. ii. 15), in each case using it as 
a token of a spiritual trouble, out of which God, 
through his judgments and their repentance and 
renewed obedience, would lead his people. 

Brought them into the valley of Achor. The 
Heb. is, " brought them up to the valley of Achor." 
Hence (and also from the position of the valley in 
the description of Judah's boundary in chap. xv. 7) 
we must look for Achor up from the Jericho plain. 
It was probably that portion of Wady Kelt where 
its upward course enters the mountains, and where 
now is the ruined castle of Kakon, It is less than 
two miles from Jericho. 

Ver. 25. Why hast thou troubled %is? the Lord 
shall TROUBLE thee. There is here, as in the lex 
talionis (Ex. xxi. 23-25), an allusion to that per- 
fect justice which underlies the whole of the divine 
administration. The atonement of Jesus Christ 
meets this in behalf of the believing sinner. 

Stoned him; burned them. Achan is made promi- 
nent in the first expression, as the leader in the 
crime. 
4 



74 co]sniEXTAEY ox 

20 And they raised over him a great heap of stones 
nnto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierce- 
ness of his anger: wherefore the name of that place 
was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day. 

Ver. 26. A great heap of stories unto this day. 
That is, probably, not only a heap remaining to 
this day, but which is constantly increased by the 
passers by throwing stones npon the pile in their 
indignation against the crime of Achan. On the 
way to Sinai from Egypt, the traveller passes such 
a cairn, called " Husan Abu Zenneh," which is 
kicked by every Arab as he goes by, and which, 
I believe, is increased in that manner, and for a 
like reason. 

So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his 
anger. Such passages as these need to be care- 
fully considered, as impressing the mind with the 
fearful character of sin and its certainty of pun- 
ishment, before the holiness of God can be vindi- 
cated. This whole department of revealed truth, 
which is the only true basis of Christian doctrine 
and Christian life, is more and more ignored by 
the naturalism of the day. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. vm. 75 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither 
be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, 
and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand 
the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his 
land: 

2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king, as thou 
didst unto Jericho and her king : only the spoil thereof, 
and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto 
yourselves : lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. 

3. The taking of Ai. 

Ver. 1. The Lord (perhaps through the high- 
priest) repeats the words which gave courage to 
Joshua at the beginning of his administration 
(chap. i. 9). He needed the comforting exhorta- 
tion after the bitter experiences he had just passed 
through. (Comp. Acts xviii. 9, 10, xxyii. 23, 24.) 

Take all the people of war, God would have the 
entire armed host Avitness how completely the sin 
had been expiated and Israel now again counted 
pure before him. So all the armed men (perhaps 
only a section of the six hundred thousand would 
act as warriors at any one time) were to march 
up to the front of Ai and take part in its destruc- 
tion. 

Ver. 2. Only the spoil thereof^ &c. The cherem 
is ordered only for the human beings. The rest 
should be Israel's own property. 



76 COMMENTAKY OK 

3 If So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to 
go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thh'ty thou- 
sand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by 
night. 

4 And he commanded them, saying. Behold, ye 
shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: 
go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: 

5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will 
approach unto the city : and it shall come to pa ss when 
they come out against us, as at the first, that we will 
flee before them, 

6 (For they will come out after us) till we have 
drawn them from the city; for they will say. They flee 
before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before 
them. 

7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize 
upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it 
into your hand. 

8 And it shall be when ye have taken the city, that 
ye shall set the city on fire : according to the command- 
ment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded 
you. 

9 Tf Joshua therefore sent them forth ; and they 
went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el 
and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged 
that night among the people. 

Ver. 3. Thirty thousand mighty men of valour. 
These are selected, according to God's order, for 
an ambuscade. It was an enormous number, but 
God was teaching Israel at this crisis that they 
were to use the means they had. Perhaps in the 
spies' report (chap. vii. 3) and advice this idea 
may have been lacking. So large a body of men 
must seek a place of ambuscade under cover of 
the night. The make of the country, with its deep 
ravines, would help them. They were to go behind 
the city, that is, on the south-west side (west^ 
according to ver. 9), as the city (if Tell el-Hajar 
be the site) fronted northward on the Wady el- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. YIII. 77 

10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and 
numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders 
of Israel, before the people to Ai. 

11 And all the people, even the people of war that 
were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came 
before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: 
now there was a valley between them and Ai. 

12 And he took about five thousand men, and set 
them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the 
west side of the city. 

13 And when they had set the people, even all the 
host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in 
wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night 
into the midst of the valley. 

14 If And it came to pass when the king of Ai saw 
it^ that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of 



Mutyah. They would naturally pass up Wady 
Kelt and Wady es-Suweinit to the deep hollow 
just west of el-Kudeirah. This would be, accord- 
ing to ver. 9, between Bethel and Ai^ on the west 
side of AL 

Ver. 10. Numbered the people. Eather, " re- 
viewed the people," ^.g., the people of war, the 
soldiery (ver. 11). 

Vee. 11, 12. The great host occupied the north 
hills of Wady el-Mutyah, in full view of the city. 
From this position he sent an additional five thou- 
sand to form another ambuscade at the west of the 
city, perhaps in one of the hollows below Burj 
Beitin. 

Ver. 13. After this display of his forces on the 
north hills, and this arrangement of his new am- 
buscade, Joshua marches down into the middle of 
Wady el-Mutyah, directly toward the city. 

Vee. 14. The people of Ai discover his position 



78 COMMENTARY OK 

the city went out against . Israel to battle, he and all 
his people, at a time appointed, before the plain: but 
he wist not that there were Hers in ambush against him 
behind the city. 

15 And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were 
beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilder- 
ness. 

16 And all the people that were in Ai were called 
together to pursae after them: and they pursued after 
Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 

17 And there was not a man left in Ai, or Beth-el, 
that went not out after Israel: and they left the city 
open, and pursued after Israel. 

18 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the 
spear that is in thine hand toward Ai ; for I will give it 
into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear 
that he had in his hand toward the city. 

early in th^ morning, and they go out to the place 
of assembly (Champ de Mars) infi^ont of the Ara- 
bah, for so should be rendered the words which we 
have in English, ''at a time appointed, before the 
plain." The Arabah, or ''sterile plain," is the 
same as the wilderness of Bethaven of chap, xviii. 
12, which would be the waste region at the head 
of Wady IMutyah. 

Vek. 15. TJie wilderness, i.e., of Bethaven. 
(See preceding note.) 

VePv. 17. Not a man, i.e., not a soldier. (Comp. 
ver. 21.) This verse shows that Bethel and Ai 
were very near together. If Ai were at Tell el- 
Hajar, the distance between the two would be less 
than two miles. The rout seemed to be so perfect, 
that the whole neighborhood joined in, thinking 
probably that this would be the last of Israel. 

Ver. 18. The spear. Heb., chidhon, Kimchi, 
quoted by Gesenius, says that this was a SDear on 



JOSHUA, CHAP vm. 79 

19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, 
and they ran as soon as* he had stretched out his 
hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and 
hasted, and set the city on fire. 

20 And when the men of Ai looked behind them, 
they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended 
up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way 
or that way : and the people that fled to the wilderness 
turned back upon the pursuers. 

21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the am- 
bush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city 
ascended, then they turned again, and slew the men of Ai. 

22 And the other issued out of the city against them ; 
so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, 
and some on that side: and they smote them, so that 
they let none of them remain or escape. 

23 And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought 
him to Joshua. 

which was a flag. The Lord spoke to Joshua 
perhaps here by the high-priest. The liers-in-wait 
would of course have a watch looking out for this 
signal, and Joshua would probably take his place 
on the heights at the north, whence he could easily 
direct every movement. They might be a mile 
away from Joshua, and yet clearly see this signal, 
if it were a red flag on the end of a spear. 

Ver. 20. Power. Heb., " hands." The people 
of Ai and Bethel at once saw the stratagem, and 
discovered that, instead of being victors, they were 
victims. Ability to escape, moreover, was taken 
away. Their " hands " were gone. The Ai people 
could not flee, and the Israelites stopped fleeing. 

Ver. 22. Remain or escape^ i,e,^ remain alive on 
the field or escape from it. The King of Ai is 
especially excepted, but even he only for a short 
season. 



80 COMMENTARY ON 

24 And it came to pass when Israel had made an end 
of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the 
wilderness wherein they chased them, and when they 
were all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they 
were consumed, that all the Israelites returned unto 
Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. 

25 And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of 
men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men 
of Ai. 

26 For Joshua drew not his hand back w^herewith 
he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed 
all the inhabitants of Ai. 

27 Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel 
took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the 
"word of the Lord which he conunanded Joshua. 

28 And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for 
ever, even a desolation unto this day. 

29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until 
even-tide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua 
commanded that they should take his carcass down 
from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of 
the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that 
remaineth unto this day. 

Ver. 25. Twelve thousand. These represented 
Ai, but all Bethel's warriors must have perished 
also, and we must count them as at least three 
thousand more. 

Ver. 26. Drew not Ms liand hack, Comp. Moses 
at Rephidim (Ex. xvii. 12). 

Utterly destroyed. The Hebrew verb of cherem. 

Ver. 29. A tree. Lit., " the tree," Le.^ the exe- 
cution-tree, the prepared gallows. The phrase is 
used for crucifying, impaling, and hanging. It is 
probable that the king of Ai was slain with the 
sword and then hanged upon a gallows. It was 
designed that Israel should count all Canaanites as 
utterly defiled, and hence every means was taken 
to express their defilement. (See Appendix.) 



JOSHUA, CHAP. vni. 81 

Until eventide. See Deut. xxi. 22, 23. 
Heap of stones. See on chap. vii. 26. 

4. The Covenant renewed at SJiechem. 

Vek. 30-35. It has been earnestly contended 
that these verses are out of place, and should come 
in after the eleventh chapter, when the whole land 
had been conquered. The only external evidence 
in favor of any displacement is in the fact that in 
the LXX these verses are inserted after the second 
verse of the next chapter, but that slight alteration 
of place does not touch the argument for the trans- 
fer to chap. xi. We can see no substantial reason 
for supposing any error in the present order. The 
fall of Ai, with all that had preceded it at Jordan 
and Jericho, had paralyzed the entire people of 
Canaan, and had made the time most fitting for 
the entire mass of Israel to move up from the 
Jordan valley to the exact centre of the land, 
which Moses had designated as the place where 
Israel should consecrate the land and themselves 
to Jehovah. (See Deut. chap, xxvii.) From 
Jericho, by Ai and the Mukhna, to Gerizim is a 
distance of thirty-three miles, and by the Ghor to 
Wady Ahmar, and thence by what we may call the 
hieh road to Gerizim, is a distance of less than 
thirty miles. The whole host of Israel could have 
made that journey in three days. Moreover, if we 
look over the list of kings whom Joshua conquered, 
as given in the twelfth chapter, we find that, 
between Ai and the great plain of Esdraelon or 
4* F 



82 COMMEKTARY O:^- 

30 IT Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord 
God of Israel in mount Ebal, 

31 As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded 
the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the 
law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no 
man hath lifted up any iron : and they offered thereon 
burnt-offerings imto the Lord, and sacrificed peace- 
offerings. 

Jezreel, there were none^ showing that by some 
providential calamity (referred to in Deut. yii. 20, 
and Josh. xxiv. 12, as " the hornet") that central 
portion of the land had been stripped of its inhab- 
itants in preparation for Israel's solemn service at 
Gerizim and Ebal. 

Ver. 30. Then, i.e., after the faU of Ai. The 
details of the altar are given in the directions in 
Deut. xxvii. The altar was to be built of great 
unhewn stones, and then a coating of plaster was 
to be put upon them, on which were to be written 
all the words of the first twenty-six chapters of 
Deuteronomy. On this altar, which was to be 
erected on Mount Ebal, peace offerings were to 
be offered, as well as the burnt offerings. 

Mount Ehal stands north of Mount Gerizim, a 
very narrow valley running between, in which is 
squeezed the modern Nablus, the ancient Shechem. 
This valley runs eastward into the north-western 
corner of the striking and beautiful plain of 
Mukhna. Mount Gerizim is 2,650, and Mount 
Ebal 2,700 feet above the Mediterranean, but they 
are not much more than 1,000 feet above the valley. 
If you draw a line from the latitude of Sidon to 
the latitude of (the supposed) Kadesh-barnea, these 



JOSHUA, CHAP. vni. 83 

32 T[ And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of 
the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the 
children of Israel. 

33 And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and 
their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that 
side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark 
of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as 
he that was born among them ; half of them over 
against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against 
mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had ' 
commanded before, that they should bless the people 
of Israel. 



mountains are exactly at the half-way point. If 
you draw another line from the Mediterranean Sea 
to the top of the Gilead range, again these moun- 
tains are at the half-way point. Thus the spot 
taken for this grand ceremony was exactly in the 
centre of the new country of the tribes. 

Veh. 32. A copy of the law of Moses^ which he 
wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. This 
should read, " the second of the law," &c., i.e.^ 
Deuteronomy. This was the law which Moses 
wrote "' in the presence of the children of Israel." 
It was probably the first twenty-six chapters, in- 
cluding all that was written up to the blessings and 
curses, as law to be read. (See Deut. xxvii. 3, 8.) 
The other chapters, however, may also be included. 

Ver. 33. The priests the Levites. (See in chap, 
iii. 3.) 

The stranger. Of course, the proselyte. (See 
Deut. xxxi. 12.) 

Should bless. The word " barak " seems to be 
used here in its double meaning of both blessing 
and cursing. Six tribes on the Gerizim side were 



84 COMMENTARY OK 

34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, 
the blessings and cursings, according to all that is 
written in the book of the law. 

35 There was not a word of all that Moses com- 
manded, which Joshua read not before all the congre- 
gation of Israel, with the women, and the httle ones, 
and the strangers that were conversant among them. 

to bless the people, and the other six on the Ebal 
side were to utter the curses (Deut. xxvii. 12, 13). 
Ver. 34. Joshua seems to have been preceded 
by the Levites (Deut. xxvii. 14), who uttered the 
curses. Then he read aloud the blessings and curses 
of the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy. The 
six tribes on either side may have only symboli- 
cally represented the blessings and curses, or may 
have repeated them after Joshua, or only have 
responded "amen" to them. It is hard to under 
stand exactly how six of them were " to bless 
the people," and the other six were "for a curs- 
mg. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IX. 85 



CHAPTER IX. 

1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which 
were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the val- 
leys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against 
Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaan- 
ite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite heard 
thereof; 

6. The Craft of the Gibeonites, 

Ver. 1. On this side Jordan. Lit., "beyond 
Jordan." They were " beyond Jordan " to Israel's 
start in the invasion, i,e,^ to the Moabitish country. 

In the hills. The mountain region, or backbone 
of Palestine, known afterward as the hill-country 
of Judah, Mount Ephraim, &c. 

In the valleys. Heb., " in the Shephelah," the 
nanie especially given to the great Philistine plain. 
It is from a root which means "low." 

In all the coasts of the great sea over against 
Lehanon. The strip of low coast land from Car- 
mel to Has en-Nakura. The Girgashite is left out 
of this list. The Jewish tradition, sustained by 
Procopius, is that they fled the country on Joshua's 
approach and settled in north-western Africa. 
Josh. xxiv. 11, shows that if they did thus flee, 
they fought against Israel with the other tribes 
of Canaan before their flight. 



86 



COM^IEXTARY ON 



2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight 
with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. 

3 1[ And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what 
Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 

Vee. 2. This gathering was a reaction after the 
paralysis caused by the destruction of Jericho and 
Ai. It may have been consummated as much as 
a month after the taking of Ai. 

Vee. 3. Gibeon is afraid to enter into the con- 
federacy. It was the head city of a Hivite tetra- 




Ai. 



Jerusalem. 

+ 

polis, to wit, Gibeon, Chepliirah, Beeroth, and 
Kirjath-jearim (ver. 17), forming a republic or 
oligarchy in the midst of the monarchies of Pal- 
estine. On this account it was easier and more 
natural for Gibeon to act independently of the 
other principalities. Gibeon was only a little more 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IX. 87 

4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if 
they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon 
their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and 
bound up; 

than six miles south-west of Ai. Chephirah was 
five and a half miles west of Gibeon. Beeroth 
was four miles north of Gibeon. KirjatJi-jearim 
was about five miles south-west of Gibeon, and 
two and a half miles south of Chephirah. The 
sites of all these places are identified. 

The sketch on page 86 shows the proportionate 
relations in distance and direction between the Gib- 
eonite cities, Ai and Jerusalem. Beeroth, one of 
their cities, was only three miles from Ai. The dis- 
trict of the Gibeonite tetrapolis would be about 
eleven miles in length and half that in breadth. 
The nearest roj^al town to the district (after Ai 
and Bethel) would be Jerusalem, not much more 
than five miles from Gibeon. 

Ver. 4. They did work wilily. Lit., '' they also 
wrought with craft." That is, these Gibeonites, 
like all the other inhabitants of Canaan, wrought 
against Israel ; but while the others did it with 
arms, these did it with craft. It shows that there 
was no recognition of Jehovah (as in Rahab's case), 
but simply a cunning act to overreach Joshua. 
Rahab's example would, doubtless, have been 
followed by Rahab's sequel. But the Gibeonites 
became servants, while Rahab became the ances- 
tress of David and Christ. There is a close con- 
nection between second and third verses. 

Wine-bottles. Rather, '' skins of wine." 



88 COZSrMEXTAKY ON 



5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and 
old garments upon them; and all the bread of their 
provision was dry and mouldy. 

6 And they vrent to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, 
and said unto him, and to the men of Israel. We be 
come from a far countiy; now therefore make ye a 
league with us. 



Ver. 0. Clouted^ i.e.^ patched. 

3Iouldy, Lit., '' speckled." 

Vee. 6. Gilgal, This could not be the Gilgal 
do^n by Jordan, so far away from the centre to 
which Joshua had penetrated ; but the Gilgal of 
2 Kings ii. 1, which was higher than Bethel (2 
Kings ii. 2). It is this second Gilgal which, we 
think, became so famous in Samuel's day, and 
which became a centre of idolatry. (See 1 Sam. vii. 
16, X. 8, xi. 14, xiii. 7, 8, xv. 33; Hos. iv. 15, 
ix. 15, xii. 11 ; Amos iv. 4, v. 5.) It was the 
great head-quarters of Israel, until the tabernacle 
was pitched at Shiloh, which was not far off. 
Hence it became a place of traditional sanctity 
to after generations, and idolatry readily erected 
there one of its shrines, as at Bethel. This ^dew 
is taken by Keil, and his arguments are convinc- 
ing. Van de Velde holds the same. This second 
Gilgal bears still the old name (Jiljilieh), and is^ 
situated on a commanding height fifteen miles due 
north of Jerusalem, three miles west of the high 
northern road, and about seven miles north and 
west of Ai. It is also about fourteen miles south 
of Mount Gerizim. '' It is near the western brow 
of the high mountain tract, and affords an exten- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IX. 89 

7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, 
Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall w^e 
make a league with youV 

8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. 
And Joshua said unto them, Who are yeV and from 
whence come ye? 

9 And they said unto him. From a very far country 
thy servants are come, because of the name of the 
LoiiD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, 
and all that he did in Egypt, 

10 And all that he did to the two kings of the 
Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of 
Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at 
Ashtaroth. 

11 Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of 

sive view over the great lower plain and the sea, 
while at the same time the mountains of Gilead 
are seen in the east." (Robinson.) It also has 
distant Hermon in sight. No more suitable spot 
could have been selected for Israel's central post 
during the process of the conquest. 

Ver. 7. Peradventure ye dwell among us ; and 
how shall we make a league with you ? (See Ex. 
xxiii. 32; Deut. vii. 2, xx. 16.) No league could 
be made with the people of Canaan. But this 
does not forbid the accepting any as proselytes. 
There may have been many such, like Rahab's 
family. 

Ver. 8. We are thy servants, A formula of 
oriental politeness. 

Ver. 9, 10. All that he did in JEgypt^ and all 
that he did to the two kings of the Amorites. They 
adroitly say nothing of the crossing of the Jordan, 
or of Jericho and Ai, as if these later matters had 
not reached their distant home when they left. 



90 COMME^-TARY OK 

our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with 
you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say 
unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make 
ye a league with us: 

12 This our bread we took hot /or our provision out 
of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; 
but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 

13 And these bottles of wine which we filled, loere 
new, and behold they be rent: and these our garments 
and our shoes are become old by reason of the very 
long journey. 

14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked 
not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. 

15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a 
league with them, to let them live: and the princes of 
the congregation sware unto them. 

16 Tf And it came to pass at the end of three days 
after they had made a league with them, that they 
heard that they were their neighbours, and that they 
dwelt among them. 

17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came 
unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities 
were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath- 
jearim. 

18 And the children of Israel smote them not, be- 



Ver. 14. Read, according to the margin, they 
received the men ly reason of their victuals^ and 
asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. They 
judged the case for themselves, and the mouldy 
bread was the criterion, Avhen, in such an emer- 
gency, they should have applied to the Urim and 
Thummim. 

Ver. 17. On the third day. That is the same 
as ''at the end of three days," in ver. 16. The 
armed men would move from Gilgal to Gibeon 
(about twelve miles) in the same day on which 
the news was heard. 

Ver. 18. The congregation, remembering Achan's 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IX. 91 

cause the princes of the congregation had sworn unto 
them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congre- 
gation murmured against the princes. 

19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, 
We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: 
now therefore we may not touch them. 

20 This we will do to them; we will even let them 
live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which 
we sware unto them. 

21 And the princes said unto them. Let them live; 
but let them be hewers of wood, and drawers of water 
unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised 
them. 



sin and its dreadful consequences, would naturally 
fear that a new sin and judgment were here pre- 
sented. 

Ver. 19. We may not touch them. *' Touch. " in 
the sense of '' slay " or " smite." So the Heb. 

Ver. 20. Lest wrath he upon us. They show 
the people (through their representatives) that 
God's wrath, which, the people feared, would be 
experienced if the solemn oath was broken. 

Ver. 21. They will make, however, a clear in- 
dication of their sense of error, and will degrade the 
Hivites to be menial servants to the congregation. 
The sin of the princes was not in keeping the 
oath, but in making it. (Comp. Ps. xv. 4.) Jeho- 
vah's holy name was to be honored among the 
heathen by Israel's keeping the oath uttered to 
him. God, by his dealing with Saul's family for 
their slaughter of some of the Gibeonites four 
hundred years later (2 Sam. xxi.), puts the 
seal of his approbation on this decision of the 
princes to keep the oath. 



92 COMMENTARY ON 

22 IT ^nd Joshua called for them, and he spake unto 
them, saying. Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, 
We are very far from you; when ye dwell among usV 

23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none 
of you be freed from being bond-men, and hewers of 
wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. 

24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it 
was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy 
God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the 
land, and to destroy all the mhabitants of the land 
from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our 
lives because of you, and have done this thing. 

25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it 
seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. 

26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out 
of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew 
them not. 

27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood 
and drawers of water for the congregation and for the 
altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place 
which he should choose. 

Ver. 22. Joshua called for them. The repre- 
sentative army of Israel, with Joshua at its head, 
had moved to Gibeon, and there Joshua probably 
summons the representatives of the four cities and 
tells them the decision of Israel concerning them. 

Ver. 23. Cursed. Heb., " arar," and not '' cha- 
ram " (whence chererti). 

For the house of my God. They were to be pub- 
lic tabernacle menials, and not private slaves. 

Ver. 27. Sewers of wood and drawers of water. 
In this low position, and under constant ecclesias- 
tical oversight, they would not tempt the people 
of Israel to Canaanitish sins. All open idolatries 
would be prevented. Doubtless their descend- 
ants became thoroughly attached to the Jewish 
system. It is generally supposed that the Neth- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. IX. 93 

inim of later days (1 Chron. ix. 2 ; Ezra ii. 43, &c.) 
were the Gibeonites, so called from the word 
nathan (to give), used by Joshua in this verse, 
" and Joshua made them that day," &c. (lit., " and 
Joshua gave them that day," &c.). 



94 COMMENTAE.Y ON 



CHAPTER X. 

1 Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of 
Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and 
had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho 
and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and 
how the inhabitants of Gib eon had made peace with 
Israel, and were among them; 

2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a 
great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it ivas 
greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. 

3 Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent 
unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of 
Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto 
Debir king of Eglon, saying, 

6. The Conquest of the South. 

Ver. 1. Adoni-zedek. This name (lord of right- 
eousness), so like to Melchi-zedek (king of right- 
eousness), mentioned in Gen. xiv. 18, as King of 
Salem, has suggested the prevailing idea that Salem 
and Jerusalem are the same, and that its kings for 
five centuries had borne the title of Melchi-zedek, 
or Adoni-zedek. As the distance of time is so 
great, it may be only a coincidence that the word 
zedek should appear in both these proper names. 

Ver. 2. As one of the royal cities. That is, al- 
though it had no king, but was one of a confeder- 
acj^ of republican towns, yet it had the power and 
importance of one of the cities that had a king. 

Ver. 3. Hehron^ Jarmuth^ Lachish^ and JEglon 



A 



JOSHUA, CHAP. X. 95 

4 Come up unto rae, and help me, that we may smite 
Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with 
the children of Israel. 

were probably the largest, strongest, and most 
important cities of southern Canaan, and hence 
the king of Jerusalem, the nearest royal city to 
Joshua's host, sends to them for a union of forces. 
He was cut off from all the northern kings by 
Joshua's army. 

Hebron is nineteen miles south of Jerusalem, on 
the highest portion of the mountain country. It 
was the old Abrahamic home, and in its immediate 
vicinity was the cave of Machpelah (Gen. xxiii. 19). 
The Hittites occupied it in Abraham's day, but 
now it appears the Amorites (ver. 6) held it. 
Afterward, between Joshua's capture of it (ver. 
87) and Caleb's occupation of it (chap. xi. 21, 
and chap. xv. 13), the Anakim dwelt there. 

Jarmuth is sixteen miles south of west of Jeru- 
salem, on the slope of the mountain country, and 
about eight miles from the Shephela^h, or Philistine 
plain. It is fifteen miles from Hebron. 

Lachish was a very famous town in later days, 
as seen by its mention in Assyrian records, thirty- 
six miles south-west of Jerusalem, on the Shephe- 
lah, and fourteen miles from Gaza. 

Eglon was only three miles east of Lachish, and 
twenty-five miles west of Hebron. 

Ver. 4. That we may smite Gibeon. Although 
Gibeon was their object, they must have known 
that Israel would be also met. But Israel's name 



96 COMMENTARY ON 

5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the 
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of 
Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gath- 
ered themselves together, and went up, they and all 
their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made 
war against it. 

6 1[ And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the 
camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy 
servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help 
us : for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the 
mountains are gathered together against us. 

7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the 
people of war with him, and all the mighty men of 
valour. 

8 IT And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: 

had become so formidable, that it was policy for 
Adoni-zedek not to use it, but to use the name of 
Gibeon only in forming the league. 

Ver. 6. Grilgal. See chap. ix. 6. 

ITie kings of the Amorites that dwell in the 
mountains. Probably these five kings possessed 
most of the mountain-country south of Gibeon, 
although two of their capitals, Lachish and Eglon, 
were down in the great plain. 

Ver. 7. Ascended. Although the mountain Gil- 
gal (chap. ix. 6) is situated on high ground, yet 
the land rises as you go south from it to Gibeon. 

And all the mighty men of valour. It was cus- 
tomary in ancient armies to have a select force of 
the most valiant reserved for special occasions. 
Such were Xerxes' '' immortals." These '' mighty 
men of valour " seem to have been such a select 
battalion. Joshua foresaw that a great and deci- 
sive battle was at hand. 

Ver. 8. A new strengthening of Joshua's heart 



JOSHUA, CHAP. X. 97 

for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall 
not a man of them stand before thee. 

9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and 
went up from Gilgal all night. 

10 And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, 
and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and 
chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, 
and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. 

is given by God, probably through the high-priest 
and the Urim. 

Ver. 9. Joshua therefore. Notice how the 
*' therefore " is introduced. The word is not in 
the Hebrew, but it is implied. Joshua, when 
assured of success, uses every precaution. This is 
the process of a true faith. 

All night. They could easily reach Gibeon 
(twelve miles from Gilgal) in one night. 

Veh. 10. The great battle was fought on the 
beautiful basin below the hill of Gibeon, and on its 
west side. The pursuit was down the remarkable 
pass of Beth-horon. 

Azekah and Makkedah^ although not identified, 
are generally supposed to be near Wady Sumt, and 
in the neighborhood of Jarmuth. (The kings, 
after reaching the plain, would flee toward their 
cities.) If so, the pursuit must have been for 
thirty miles from the battle-field. We must give 
at least ten hours for this. If the battle were 
joined at six in the morning, and speedily decided 
by the flight of the Amorites, we cannot put the 
arrival at Makkedah of the pursued and pursuers 
before five o'clock in the afternoon. Now, if 
we are to take '' that day " in ver. 28 literally, 

5 G 



98 COMMENTAEY ON 



11 And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, 
and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the 
Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them 
unto Azekah, and they died: they tcere more which died 
with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel 
slew with the sword. 



then the capture of Makkeclali must have been 
in the evening of that same eventful day. But we 
need not press that phrase. " That day " may sig- 
nify '' at that juncture," or, generally, '' at that 
time." 

Vee. 11. The going down to BetJi-horon, This is 
the remarkable pass between Beit Ur el-Tahta and 
Beit Ur el-Foka, lying west from Gibeon. 

Unto AzeJcah. As Azekah was one of the ter- 
mini of the flight, the miraculous hail-storm fol- 
lowed the pursued for nearly the whole of the long 
flight, while Israel followed in safety. 

Ver. 12-14. These verses have given rise to a 
great amount of adverse criticism. Some rejecting 
them as an interpolation, others considering them 
as a mere quotation from an imaginative poem, and 
still others using them as arguments against the 
truth of the Scriptures. The fact that it is intro- 
duced after the description of the flight to Azekah 
does not prove it an interpolation. That manner 
of writing an historical narrative is eminently 
Hebraic. It is not a mere quotation, but, if there 
is a quotation, it is followed by the sacred writer's 
endorsement in verses 13 and 14. And why 
should not God, through Joshua, perform this 
miracle, as well as that of the stopping of the tern- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. X. 99 

12 If Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day 
when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the 
children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, 
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou Moon, in 
the valley of Ajalon. 

pest on the lake of Galilee, or that of bringing the 
shadow ten degrees backward on the dial of Ahaz ? 
(2 Ki. XX. 11). The favorite argument of the 
sceptic is founded on the fact that the command for 
the sun to stand still implies a false view of the 
motions of the heavenly bodies. This objection 
is very puerile in any one who daily talks of the 
sun rising and setting. The language, " stand 
still," is phenomenal, and the phenomenon may 
have occurred by some action of God through the 
laws of refraction. 

Vek. 12. Sun — iipon Gribeon — moon^ in the 
valley of Ajalon, Gibeon was east of the battle- 
field, Ajalon was west. So it must have been in 
the morning,* at the beginning of the flight, say at 
seven o'clock, that the sun and moon were ordered 
to occupy their present positions (phenomenally). 
This command was made known to the army (in the 
sight of Israel)^ and its fulfilment must have been a 
grand encouragement all that day. When the final 
scene occurred at Makkedah, at (say) five o'clock 
in the afternoon, then, if not before, the refrac- 
tion may have ceased and the two heavenly bodies 

* It must have been several days after full moon, probably the 
first full moon after the passover at Gilgal ; that is, about five 
weeks after that passover, and in the sixth week after crossing the 
Jordan. 



100 COMMENTABY ON 

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, 
until the people had avenged themselves upon their ene- 
mies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So 
the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted 
not to go down about a w^hole day. 

14 And there was no day like that before it or after 
it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: 
for the Lord fought for Israel. 

taken their normal phenomenal relation to Israel, 
the moon having disappeared and the sun shining 
forth from the western horizon. It does not appear 
that the day was lengthened, but only that these 
two heavenly bodies seemed motionless for many 
hours. " The sun stood still in the midst (or * the 
half part ') of heaven," i.e,^ did not cross over to 
the other half, '-' and hasted not to go down like 
a complete day,'''' The Hebrew as naturally takes 
this meaning as " about a whole day." In the 
ordering of the miracle, note that " Joshua spoke 
to tlie Lord." Tlie command was an inspired 
prayer. (See Appendix.) 

Ver. 14. There was no such day, as the result 
of the Lord's hearing man's prayer. This is the 
meaning of this verse. The Lord often heard and 
answered prayer by miraculous interference before 
this and after this, but lie never before or after so 
marked the day in its aspect as he did this, at the 
prayer of man. The Book of Jasher (or '' the 
Upright One") is mentioned also in 2 Sam. i. 18, 
and was, perhaps, one of the sacred poems which 
God, in his providence, has caused to disappear. 
There are other books, like those of Iddo, of Gad, 
&c., referred to in the Scriptures which may have 



JOSHUA, CHAP. X. 101 

15 If And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, 
unto the camp to Gilgal. 

16 But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a 
cave at Makkedah. 

17 And it was told Joshua, saying. The ^yq kings 
are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. 

18 And eToshua said. Roll great stones upon the 
mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep 
them: 

19 And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, 
and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to 
enter into their cities: for the Lord your God hath 
delivered them into your hand. 

20 And it came to pass, when Joshua and the chil- 
dren of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a 
very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the 
rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities. 

21 And all the people returned to the camp to 
Joshua at Makkedah in peace : none moved his tongue 
against any of the children of Israel. 

served their purpose prior to the Babylonian cap- 
tivity, and were then lost. They may have been 
inspired works. 

Ver. 15. This verse is not out of place,* but the 
narrative ends here, and then is resumed in ver. 16, 
in order to describe the sequel of the battle of 
Gibeon. This is the Hebraic style of writing. 
The verse is then repeated at ver. 43. 

Ver. 17. In a cave at Makkedah, Summeil, on 
the great plain by Wady Sumt, which Van de Velde 
considers Makkedah, has a very remarkable cave 
in its immediate vicinity. The word here has the 
definite article, the cave at Makkedah, 

Ver. 21. None moved his tongue. The defeat 
of the confederate kings had been so thorough, the 

* To make it part of the extract from the Book of Jaslier is 
most unnecessary and harsh. 



102 COMMENTARY ON 

22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, 
and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave. 

23 And they did so, and brought forth those five 
kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, 
the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of 
Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 

24 And it came to pass, when they brought out those 
kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men 
of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war 
which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon 
the necks of these kings. And they came near, and 
put their feet upon the necks of them. 

25 And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be 
dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall 
the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. 

26 And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew 
them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were 
hanging upon the trees until the evening. 

27 And it came to pass at the time of the going 
down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they 

entire land ceased to offer further offensive oppo- 
sition. 

Ver. 24. All the men of Israel^ i.e.^ all the Is- 
raelitish army. 

Put your feet upon the necks of these kings, A sig- 
nificant Oriental act to encourage Israel, a visible 
pledge that they should conquer all their foes. 

Ver. 25. Fear not^ &c. Joshua thus reassures 
Israel, who had probably never fully regained 
confidence since the disaster before Ai. 

Ver. 26. The hanging was a mark of cursing 
from God, an exhibition of their own stewardship 
under him. (See Deut. xxi. 23.) 

U7itil the evening. (See the verse above cited 
from Deuteronomy.) 

Ver. 27. Until the very day. (See note on chap, 
vii. 26.) 



JOSHUA, CHAP. X. 103 

took them down off the trees, and cast them into the 
cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones 
in the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day. 

28 ^ And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and 
smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king 
thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls 
that were therein ; he let none remain : and he did 
to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of 
Jericho. 

29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all 
Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against 
Libnah : 

30 And the Lokd delivered it also, and the king 
thereof, into the hand of Israel: and he smote it with 
the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were 
therein; he let none remain in it ; but did unto the 
king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho. 

31 Tf And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel 
with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and 
foug-ht against it. 

32 And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand 
of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it 
with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were 
therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah. 

33 TJ Then Iloram king of Gezer came up to help 
Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until 
he had left him none remaining. 

Ver. 28. That day. (See note on ver. 10.) 
Ver. 29. Libnah is conjectured by Van de Velde 
to be at Arak-el-Menshiyeh on Wady Safieh, five 
miles from his supposed site of Makkedah. 
Ver. 31. Lachish. (See note on ver. 3.) 
Ver. 33. Gezer is the first city that attempts 
voluntarily to withstand the tide of IsraeFs con- 
quests. The king had, perhaps, supposed that at 
so strong a spot as Lachish a successful resistance 
could be made, and hence offered to reinforce the 
king of Lachish. Joshua, after destroying Lachish, 
did not go to Gezer, but to Eglon. The king of 



104 COMMENTABY ON 

34 1[ And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, 
and all Israel with hhn: and they encamped against it, 
and foLioiit aefainst it: 

35 And they took it on that day, and smote it with 
the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were 
therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all 
that he had done to Lachish. 

36 And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel 
with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it: 

37 And they took it, and smote it with the edge of 
the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities 
thereof, and all the souls that ?'^'(?re therein ; he left none 
remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon, 
but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were 
therein. 

38 U And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, 
to Debir; and fought against it: 

39 And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the 
cities thereof, and they smote them with the edge of 
the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were 
therein; he left none remaining : as he had done to 
Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; 
as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king. 

40 ^ So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, 

Gezer and his army were slain at Lachish. Gezer 
was thirty miles north of Lachish, and near Joppa. 
Ver. 34. Eglon, (See note on ver. 3.) 
Veh. 36. Hebron. (See note on ver. 3.) 
Ver. 37. The king thereof. They had a new 
king at Hebron, after the death of the former 
king at Makkedah. 

Vee,. 38. Debir. Dr. Rosen identifies Debir 
with Dewir-ban, a few miles west of Hebron ; but 
the requirements of the grouping in chap. xv. 49, 
would place it farther south. Debir was after- 
ward reconquered by Othniel (Judg. i. 11, 12). 

Ver. 40. The hills ^ i.e. ^ tiie moun tain -country ; 
the souths i.e.., the Negeb, or land on the southern 



JOSHUA, CHAP. X. 105 

and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, 
and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly 
destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel 
commanded. 

41 And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea 
even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even 
unto Gibeon. 

42 And all these kings and their land did Joshua 
take at one time ; because the Lord God of Israel 
fought for Israel. 

43 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, 
unto the camp to Gilgal. 

slopes toward the desert; the vale^ Le.^ the Sheph- 
elah or Philistine plain; the springs^ i.e.^ the 
ravines on the borders between the mountain- 
country and the Shephelah. 

All that breathed^ ix,^ all the human beings 
whom he found. Many escaped to hiding-places, 
and afterward came out and fought Israel, as the 
Anakim at Hebron and Kirjath-sepher (or Debir), 
who reconquered those towns. 

As the Lord Grod of Israel commanded. There 
is the foundation of the whole conquest and all 
its details. It was not man's doing, and is not to 
be so judged. 

Ver. 41. Kadesh'harnea is often spoken of as 
the limit of Palestine to the south. Some would 
put it near the Arabah, south of the Dead Sea, 
and others far to the west of the Arabah. We 
cannot be sure of its exact site, but may place 
it with much probability on a line of latitude at 
least twenty miles south of the Dead Sea. Graza 
is a well-known site on the Mediterranean, fifty 
miles south-west of Jerusalem. G-oshen was Prob- 
st 



106 COMMENTARY ON 

ably the name given to the southern portion of the 
mountain-region south of Hebron, between Hebron 
and the Negeb. It may have some connection 
with the Egyptian Goshen. Perhaps Israel gave 
it that name in memory of their Egyptian home. 
The region here given as conquered by Joshua' 
in this southern campaign is about eighty miles 
from Gibeon southward, and sixty miles from the 
Mediterranean to the Dead Sea and Arabah. We 
may suppose several months or even a year to have 
been spent in this campaign. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XI. 107 



CHAPTER XI. 

1 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor 
had heard tliose things^ that he sent to Jobab king of 
Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king 
of Achshaph, 

7. The Conquest of the North, 

Vek. 1. Jahin king of Hazor. More than a 
century later another king of this name and place 
appears (Judg. iv. 2). He made an unsuccess- 
ful though formidable attempt to reconstruct the 
Canaanitish rule, holding nearly all Israel under 
his sway or fear for twenty years. 

Hazor (as we see by ver. 10) was the chief city 
of the north, and hence its king was leader of the 
northern confederation or alliance. It is doubtful 
where the town stood. Robinson thinks very near 
to the Huleh. Knobel puts it fifteen miles farther 
west, half-way across the country toward the ladder 
of Tyre, at Huzzur, which is more likely. 

Madon cannot be identified. Why its king 
should be named, as is the king of Hazor, and 
the names of the other kings be suppressed, is only 
to be explained by supposing Jabin and Jobab to 
be men of remarkable distinction in statesmanship 
or war. 



108 CO]M]MENTABY ON 

2 And to the kings that were on the north of the 
mountains, and of the plains south of Cinneroth, and 
in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, 

Shimron (Shimron-meron in chap. xii. 20) is 
identified by the Talmud with Semmnnieh, five 
miles west of Nazareth. 

AclisTiaph cannot be identified ; but Grove's 
suggestion of Haifa on the bay of Akka is a good 
one. I would suo-apst Iksim', near Tantara. 

Ver. 2. The Iciyigs that icere on the north of the 
onountains. Rather, the kings that were on the north 
in the mountain country^ that is, the kings north of 
Joshua's northmost position at Mount Ebal, whose 
cities were in the central mountain region of Gal- 
ilee. 

Aiid of the plains south of Chinneroth. Rather, 
and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth^ that is, in 
the Ghor or Jordan depression, south of the lake 
of Galilee ; for Chinnereth, or Chinneroth, was the 
town whence the lake derived its name, and is used 
here for the lake itself. 

And in the valley. Lit., and in the ShephelaJi^ 
^.e., the Philistine plain, referring to the northern 
part between the Nahr el-Aujeh and the Kalir 
Akhdar. 

And in the borders of Dor. Rather, and in the 
highlands of Dor. From the Nahr Akhdar north- 
ward the country between the Carmel range and 
the sea is no longer the Shephelah or low plain, 
but a region of hills. They are here called from 
the city on the coast " the highlands of Dor." 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XI. 109 

3 And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, 
and to the Amorite, and the llittite, and the Perizzite, 
and the Jebusite in the moiin tarns, and to the Hivite 
under Her men hi the land of Mizpeh. 

4 And they went out, they and all their hosts with 
them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the 
sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very 
many. 

5 And when all these kings were met together, they 
came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to 
fight against Israel. 

Ver. 3. And to should be omitted. The enu- 
meration of this verse is in apposition with the 
foregoing. The Canaanite on east and west Avere 
the inhabitants of the Shephelah, the Ghor and 
the heights of Dor already referred to ; and the 
Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in 
the mountains were the inhabitants of the moun- 
tains already referred to ; while the Hivite beneath 
Sermon in the land of Mizpeh was the population 
of the extreme north of Galilee, where the moun- 
tain-region of Galilee begins to change into the 
lofty ranges of Lebanon. The lofty country be- 
tween the Leontes and the Jordan would exactly 
suit this description, as beneath Hermon^ and as a 
land of 3Iizpeh (outlook). The Girgashite is omit- 
ted in this enumeration. (See note on chap. ix. 1.) 

Vee,. 5. The ivaters of Merom have been gener- 
ally supposed to be the same as Lake Semechonitis, 
or the Huleh, but Keil suggests that they are the 
waters of Wady Tawham, which flow down from 
the present village of Meiron, a few miles west of 
Safed, into the lake of Galilee. There is another 
" Maron " ten miles west of the Huleh, which has 



(^ 



110 COMMENTARY O^ 



6 Tf And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid 
because of them : for to-morrow about this time will 1 
deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shait hough 
their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. 



equal claims. Eusebius puts Merom at twelve 
miles from Samaria and near Dothan. This would 
agree with the southern border of the great plain 
of Esdraelon ; and as this was the natural spot to 
check an army advancing from the south, I am 
inclined to place this battle-field of Jabin in the 
neighborhood of Megiddo, and to make the waters 
of Merom identical with the waters of Megiddo 
(Judges V. 19). This was the spot where the 
second Jabin was overcome by Barak, and where 
Josiah fought his fatal battle with Necho (2 Ki. 
xxiii. 29). In such a spot they could use chariots, 
but in the other sites assumed it would be almost 
impossible. 

Vee. 6. Be not afraid. This is the fourth time 
that by these words God directly encouraged his 
faithful servant: first, when he succeeded to 
Moses' responsibility (chap. i. 6, 7, 9) ; secondly, 
when after Achan's sm and its sad results a new 
movement was to be made (chap. viii. 1) ; thirdly, 
when the southern alliance was formed against 
Israel (chap. x. 8) ; and now, fourthlj^, when the 
northern alliance is formed. We may add as anal- 
ogous the words given by God in his appearance 
as a warrior to Joshua before the capture of Jeri- 
cho (chap. vi. 2), although this special formula is 
not used. (See note on chap. i. 6.) 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XI. Ill 

7 So Joshua came, and all the people of war with 
him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, 
and they fell upon them. 

8 And the Lord delivered them into the hand of 
Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great 
Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the val- 

Thou shalthougli their horses. To "hough" is 
to ''hamstring." But this Hebrew word '' akar " is 
used in 2 Sam. viii. 4, and in 1 Chron. xviii. 4, of 
chariots ('' horses " are inserted in the English ver- 
sion), and in Zeph. ii. 4, it is used (in a paronomasia 
it is true) of the city of Ekron. In the passage in 
Gen. xlix. 6, if we read shur instead of shor (as 
is done by some, and as seems to be the most prob- 
able reading), the word akar is used of a wall. The 
word seems to be of the same stock with achar 
(compare the roots kanan and chanan^ and many 
other examples), and the primary idea appears to 
be "to strike " or "to smite." Proof is wanting 
that the ordinary translation of " hough " is a cor- 
rect one. It would have been a difficult and 
useless task to hamstring an enemy's horse in 
battle, when a blow on the head or body would 
be easy and efficacious. And, moreover, there 
would have been a cruelty in it utterly at war with 
the kindly care enjoined upon the Jews in the law 
with respect to dumb animals (Deut. xxv. 4). 

Ver. 7. They fell upon them. With the same 
suddenness and (as we think) at the same place 
where Gideon fell upon the Midianites two centu- 
ries later (Judg. vii. 21). 

Ver. 8. Unto great Zidon^ and unto Misrephoth- 



112 COMMENTARY ON 

ley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until 
they left them none remaining. 

9 And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: 
he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with 
fire. 

10 IT And Joshua at that time turned back, and 
took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: 
for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those king- 
doms. 

11 And they smote all the souls that loere therein 
with the Q^^gQ of the sword, utterly destroying them: 
there was not any left to breathe : and he burnt Hazor 
with fire. 



maim^ and unto the valley of Blizpeh eastward, 
Zidon^ or Sidon, is called " great," as being at this 
time the chief of the coast cities. Tyre afterward 
attained to the headship. Sidon is eighty-fiYe 
miles from our supposed site of the battle. The 
flight of the Canaanites would be into the plain of 
Akka, and then along the coast northward. 

3Iisrephoth-maimhiplaced by Schuitz, Thomson, 
and Van de Velde at Ain Mesherfi, near the Ladder 
of Tyre. 

The valley of Mizpeh would be the beautiful 
Merj Ayun between the Leontes and the upper 
Jordan (Hasbany). See on yer. 3. Part of the 
fugitives passed up along the coast to Sidon. 
Another part, on reaching the Ladder of Tj^re, 
turned north-eastwardly along that mountain-wall, 
and passed up to the Hermon region. 

Ver. 10. Turned hack from the pursuit to Sidon. 

Sazor. (See on ver. 1.) 

Ver. 11. Burnt Hazor with fire. In ver. 13 
we are told that Hazor was the only city in the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XI. 113 

12 And all the cities of those kings, and al] the kings 
of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the 
edge of the sword, and he utterl}^ destroyed them, as 
Moses the servant of the Loud commanded. 

13 But as for the cities that stood still in their 
strength, Israel bm^ned none of them, save Ilazor 
only; that, did Joshua burn. 

14 And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, 
the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves : 
but every man they smote wdth the edge of the sword, 
until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to 
breathe. 

15 % As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, 
so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua: he 
left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded 
Moses. 

16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all 
the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the 
valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and 
the valley of the same ; 

northern confederacy that Joshua burned. Its 
position may have been so strong, or its prestige 
may have been so great, that, while the conquest 
was in process, it was wise to wipe the city entirelj^ 
away. 

Ver. 12. As Moses the servant of the Lord 
commanded. (Num. xxxiii. 62 ; Deut. vii. 2, xx. 
16, 17.) 

Ver. 13. That stood still in their strength. 
Rather, that stood on their hills. All these towns 
were built, for strength and security, on hills. 

Ver. 15. The frequent repetition of God's order 
is to be carefully noted, as showing that Israel's 
action was exceptional and no example to men in 
general, performed solely at God's command. 

Ver. 16. (See on chap. ix. 1, x. 40, xi. 2.) 
Joshua captured, — 1, the mountain country; 

H 



114 COMMENTAKY ON 



17 Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to 
Seir, even unto Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon 
under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and 
smote them, and slew them. 

18 Joshua made war a long time with all those 
kinscs. 



2, the Negeb (south of the mountain country) ; 

3, Goshen (the southern slopes of the mountains). 
See chap. x. 41 ; 4, the Shephelah (Philistine coun- 
try) ; 6, the Arabah (Jordan and Dead Sea valley) ; 

6, the mountain of Israel (the northern mountains) ; 

7, the northern Shephelah (the upper part of the 
Shephelah). 

Ver. 17. The mount Halak^ that goeth up to Seir. 
Rather, the smooth mountain that goeth up to Seir. 
Keil's suggestion, that this is the Azazimeh moun- 
tain, is a good one. I would, however, take its 
southern edge, and not its northern, as the limit of 
Israel's conquest. This mountain goes up to Seir^ 
because its southern face trends north-eastwardly 
to the Arabah, where the territory of Seir or Edom 
begins. 

Baal-gad is supposed by Robinson to be Banias, 
at the source of the eastern branch of the Jordan, 
the same spot known in the New Testament as 
Csesarea Philippi. Van de Velde's suggestion of 
Bostra or Aisafa, as in the valley of Lebanon, is 
better. 

Vee-. 18. A long time. We may suppose a year 
spent in the general subjugation of the south and 
a year in the general subjugation of the north, 
and then a number of years spent in going over 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XI. 115 

19 There was not a city that made peace with the 
children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of 
Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 

20 For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, 
that they should come against Israel in battle, that he 
might destroy them utterly, and that they might have 
no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the 
Lord commanded Moses. 

21 ^ And at that time came Joshua and cut off the 
Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from 
Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of 
Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua 
destroyed them utterly with their cities. 

the same ground more thoroughly. Joshua was 
seven years subduing the land, as we see from 
chap. xiv. 7, 10. If he entered Palestine at the 
age of eighty, and was seven years in subduing 
the land, he had twenty-three years of peaceful 
old age. 

Vee. 20. It was of the Lord to harden their hearts. 
God was, as judge, engaged in punishing this people 
for their sins. He had withdrawn his grace, and 
thus hardened their hearts, as the withdrawing of 
the sun's heat hardens the water. The hardening 
of their hearts was the beginning of their doom. 
(See Deut. ii. 30.) Compare this verse with ver. 
15, 

Vee. 21. At that time. That is, in the ''long 
time " of ver. 18, perhaps during the first seven 
years after the eisodus. 

Anakims. The Anakim were a strong and war- 
like race, one branch of which, represented by three 
families (Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai), dwelt 
in Hebron and the neighboring towns. From 
one of their ancestors, Arba, Hebron received 



116 COMMEII^TAIIY ON 

the name of Kirjath-arba, or city of Arba (chap, 
xiv. 15, XV. 13, 14). The Anakim were giants 
(Num. xiii. 33), like the Rephaim,* Zuzim, Emim, 
and Horim, east of Jordan. Those east of the 
Jordan had been destroyed by various nations, Og, 
king of Bashan, having been one of the last of 
them (Deut. iii. 11), at least of the Rephaim. The 
Avim, who formerlj^ dwelt in the Philistine coun- 
try, and w^ere destroyed by the Philistines (Deut. 
ii. 23), were, probably, also members of this gigan- 
tic race. We can only conjecture where, in eth- 
nology, to put this race. They may have been a 
Cushite or a Turanian people, for different theories 
would make these two races to have spread them- 
selves very early over the earth. 

'Hebron. (See on chap. x. 3.) 

Dehir. (See on chap. x. 38.) 

Anah is ten miles south of Hebron. 

The mountains of Judcih ; the mountains of Israel, 
The distinction made in the same range by the 
division of the land among the Israelitish tribes. 
Long before the division of the people by the two 
kingdoms in the time of Rehoboam, w^e find Judah 
and Israel distinguished. (See 1 Sam. xi. 8, and 2 
Sam. xxiv. 9.) This distinction probably began at 
the first settlement, Judah having received the south 
portion of the land in general, out of which Simeon 
and Dan were to take their portions afterwards, while 
the rest of Israel had not received their parts. 

* The name Rephaim, translated " giants," is used sometimes 
generically for all these races (Deut. ii. 11, 20). 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XI. 117 

22 There was none of the Anakims left in the land 
of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in 
Ashdod, there remained. 

23 So Joshua took the vdiole land, according to all 
that the Lord said unto Moses, and Joshua gave it for 
an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions 
by their tribes. And the land rested from war. 

Vee,. 22. Graza^ G-ath^ Ashdod. Three of the 
Phihstine cities. Ciaza and Ashdod are well known, 
bearing still their old names, lying on the coast. 
Gath is probably the present Tell es-Safieh, ten 
miles east of Ashdod. Goliath, who was of Gath, 
was perhaps one of this race of Anakim. 

Vek. 23. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance 
unto Israel according to their divisions hy their 
tribes. The details are given afterwards. This 
is only a proleptical statement, to close the record 
of the conquest. 

And the land rested from war. There were local 
collisions, but no general state of war. Special 
attacks were made on those cities and strongholds, 
which the Israelites had, through a lack of faith, 
failed to conquer at the first ; and these desultory 
conflicts appear to have lasted many years, until 
after Joshua's death. Indeed, we find the Jebu- 
sites in Jerusalem attacked and defeated by Israel 
only in David's day (2 Sam. v. 7j), four hundred 
years later. 



118 COMMENTARY ON 



CHAPTER XII. 

1 Now these are the kings of the land, which the 
children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on 
the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, 
from the river Anion, unto mount Hermon, and all the 
plain on the east: 

2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Hesh- 
bon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of 
the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and 
from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is 
the border of the children of Ammon ; 

8. Recapitulation, 

Vee. 1. Tlie river Arnon is the present Mojib, 
flowing northward on the east of Moab (Judg. xi. 
18), and then abrnptly turning westward near 
Aroer, and entering the Dead Sea about half-way 
between its two extremities. It flows through a 
deep gorge nearly two miles wide, having very 
steep sides or banks. This was Moab's northern 
boundary, and hence Israel's southern boundary, on 
the east of the Jordan. 

3Iount Eermon is the southern terminus of the 
Anti-Lebanon range, and the highest summit of the 
range, being about ten thousand feet in height. 
It is visible with its snowy crest over a large part 
of Palestine. It was the northern boundary of 
Israel on the east of the Jordan. 

Vek. 2. Aroer^ a city on the north cliff of the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XII. 119 

3 And from the plain to the sea of Cinneroth on the 
east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea 
on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the 
south, under Ashdoth-pisgah : 

Arnon gorge, still retaining the old name in its 
ruins. 

From the middle of the river. (The " from " 
should be omitted.) This seems to be a reduced 
phrase from " the city that is in the midst of the 
river" (chap. xiii. 9, 16), and probably refers to 
a portion of Aroer, or a dependent city (Ar of 
Moab, Num. xxi. 15, Isa. xv. 1) closely connected 
with Aroer, at the fork of the Mojib and its main 
branch, the Lejum or Enkeileh, three miles from 
the present ruins of Aroer. It was thus between 
the two parts of the river, and marked the north- 
eastern corner of Moab. 

And from half Crilead. Rather, even half Gilead. 
Sihon ruled over half the Gilead country to the 
river (or torrent) Jabbok, the present Wady Zerka. 
Gilead is the high land between Moab and the Sea 
of Galilee. 

Ver. 3. And from the plain to the sea of Chin- 
neroth on the east. Rather, and the Arabah to the 
sea of Chinneroth (Gennesaret) eastivard (of Jor- 
dan). Sihon ruled over the Arabah (the Jordan 
valley) to the sea of Chinneroth and to the sea of 
the Arabah, the Salt Sea, eastward of Jordan. 

The way to Beth-jeshimoth^ &c. This qualifies the 
last expression. It might be roughly rendered 

Beth-jeshimothwards." That is, the Jordan 



44 



120 COIVIIVIENTAIIY ON 

4 If And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which tvas 
of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth 
and at Edrei, 

valley extended on its western side (in Silion's 
possession) to the Salt Sea, Betli-jeshimoth being 
probably at or near the junction of the Jordan and 
the sea, and southward (not ''from the south") 
around the east corner of the sea to a spot under 
Ashdoth-pisgah. 

AsJidoth-pisgaJi means "the* pourings-out of 
Pisgah;" that is, the torrents which flow down 
from the Mount Pisgah. on the eastern side of the 
Dead Sea, the present Wadys Ghadeimeh, Burr- 
hougat, and Ghuweir. The plain extends around 
the north-east corner of the sea, so as to include a 
strip of laud under these gorges. The word Ash- 
doth is used in chap. xii. 40, and in yer. 8 of this 
chapter, for the ravines which come down from the 
mountain country of Judah to the Shephelah or 
Philistine plain, and is translated in our version 
''springs." 

Ver. 4. Ashtaroth, called " Ashteroth-Karnaim " 
in Gen. xiv. 6 (if, indeed, it be the same place), is 
a few miles west of the Lejah, in the latitude of 
Lake Semechonitis, and about thirty-five miles east 
of that water. Some think, and with reason, that 
this spot (now called Sunamein) is Ashteroth- 
Karnaim, and that the Ashtaroth of this text is at 
Afineh, on the cliffs of Jebel Hauran, and about ten 
miles north-west of Salcah. 

Edrei is at the south-west angle of the Lejah. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xn. 121 

5 And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, 
and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites, 
and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of 
Sihon king of Heshbon. 

6 Them did Moses the servant of the Lord, and the 
children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the 
Lord gave it fo?^ a possession unto the Reubenites, and 
the Gadites, and the half -tribe of Manasseh. 

7 If And these are the kings of the country which 
Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side 
Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of 
Lebanon, even unto the mount Halak that goeth up to 
Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a 
possession according to their divisions ; 

8 In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the 
plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and 



Ver. 5. Mount Sermon. (See on ver 1.) 

Salcah^ now Sulkhad, is at the southern edge 
of Jebel Hauran, occupying a most imposing site. 
It is on tlie same line of latitude with Beth-shean, 
and about seventy miles to the east of that place. 

Bashan included all the country lying between 
the Jordan valley and the eastern desert, north of 
the Hieromax and south of Hermon. 

The Greshurites probably occupied the region 
between the Lejah and Damascus. 

The MaacTiatKites were, no doubt, intimately 
connected with the Geshurites, and perhaps jointly 
occupied the same territory. It is curious to notice 
that David's wife, who was mother to Absalom, 
was MaachaJi^ the daughter of the GresJiiirite king. 

Half Gilead^ i.e.^ the northern half, between the 
Jabbok (Zerka) and the Hieromax (Yarmuk). 

Ver. 7. See on chap. xi. 17. 

Ver. 8. Note the exact enumeration. 1. The 
6 



122 COMMENTARY ON 



in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and 
the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the 
Jebusites : 

9 11 The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which 
is beside Beth-el, one; 

10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, 
one; 

11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, 
one; 

12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; 

13 The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 

14 The king of Hormah, one; the kiug of Arad, one; 

15 The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, 
one; 

16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Beth-el, 
one; 

17 The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, 
one; 

18 The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, 
one; 

19 The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; 

20 The king of Shimron-meron, one ; the king of 
Achshaph, one; 

21 The kiug of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, 
one; 

22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam 
of Carmel, one; 

23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the 
king of the nations of Gilgal, one; 

24 The king of Tirzah, one; aU the kings thirty and 
one. 



mountain country ; 2. The Shephelah ; 3. The Ara- 
bah ; 4. The intervening ravine-country ; 5. The 
wilderness (on the west side of the Dead Sea, and 
corresponding to No. 4) ; 6. The Negeb. Note 
also the omission of the Girgashites, as in chap, 
xi. 3. 

Ver. 9-24. The kings in this list not specially 
named before are those of Geder, Hormah, Arad, 
Adullam, Bethel, Tappuah, Hepher, Aphek, La- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xn. 123 

sharon, Taanach, Megiddo, Kedesh, Jokneam, Dor, 
Goim (nations), and Tirzah.* 

Gieder^ probably the " Gedor " of Judah (chap. 
XV. 58), now Jedur, half-way between Hebron and 
Bethlehem. 

Hormah (or Zephath, as in Judg. i. 17) is 
identified with es-Sufah by Robinson. Es-Sufah 
is a pass up the high mountain buttress of southern 
Judah, north of the remarkable Wady Fikreh. 
Others put Hormah at Sepata, south of Elusa. 

Arad is twenty miles south of Hebron. 

Adullam^ supposed to be Deir Duffan, twenty- 
two miles south-west of Jerusalem. 

Bethel^ now Beitin, in close proximity to Ai 
(see chap. viii. 17), ten miles north of Jerusalem. 

Tappuah was on the boundary between Ephraim 
and Manasseh (chap. xvi. 8, xvii. 8), and may be 
looked for not far from Ebal and Gerizim to the 
north-east. 

nepher^ probably the same as Gath-hepher (2 
Ki. xiv. 25), now el-Meshhad, between Nazareth 
and Sepphoris. 

ApTieh. There was an Aphek near Jerusalem, 
to the north-west (1 Sam. iv. 1). The position of 
the name in this list might lead us to look for this 
one near the plain of Esdraelon. There may have 
been another Aphek there, as we know there was 

* KeiFs argument to prove that the towns mentioned in verses 
17 and 18 belong to the number of those conquered with the 
southern confederacy, and therefore are to be sought for to the 
south of Ai and Bethel, is plausible, but by no means conclusive. 



124 COISEMENTAEY ON 

one east of the Sea of Galilee (1 Ki. xx. 26), and 
another in Asher (Josh. xix. 30). Perhaps the 
one in Asher is here intended, and it may be identi- 
cal with Haifa on the bay of Akka. 

Lasliaron cannot be identified, but Knobel sug- 
gests Saruneh, near the Sea of Galilee. 

Taanaeh and Megiddo are well-known sites in 
the south-western corner of the great plain of 
Esdraelon. 

Kedesh^ afterward in the tribe of Issachar (1 
Chron. vi. 72), and called "Kishon" (Josh. xxi. 
28), was no doubt also in the great plain by the 
river Kishon. 

Jokneam is found at el-Kaimon, under the south- 
ern end of Carmel. 

Dor. (See on chap. xi. 2.) 

Goim. The expression in the English version is 
" king of the nations of Gilgal," but the prefix to 
'' Gilgal " is the same as that before " Carmel " in 
ver. 22, and before " the coast " in ver. 23. Hence 
we read '" the king of Goim (nations) by Gilgal." 
The Goim lived near Gilgal, and were probably a 
mixed people having a king of their own. The 
Gilgal would be the Jiljilia, near Antipatris. 

Tirzali is probably Telluzah, at the north of 
Mount Ebal. It was afterward a royal Israelitish 
city (1 Ki. xvi. 17). 

These thirty-one kings doubtless divided the 
whole territory east of the Jordan from Hermon 
to Kadesh among them, excepting the Gibeonitish 
confederacy. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIII. 125 



CHAPTER Xlir. 

VII. The Inheritance of the Two Tribes and a 

Half. 

1 Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and 
the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in 
years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be 
possessed. 

Ver. 1. Was old and stricken in years. (See Gen. 
xxiv. 1.) This is not a tautology. Joshua was 
old not only as compared with childhood, but as 
viewed with reference to the whole career of man. 
Stricken is the old English for advanced, Joshua 
was eighty-seven when he had reduced the whole 
land (chap. xi. 23) ; that is, when he had destroyed 
its opposition and possessed it generally, abolishing 
its kingdoms from Kadesh to Mount Hermon. 

Moses was one hundred and twenty years old 
when he died, Joshua was one hundred and ten 
years old when he died, and Caleb probably had 
an equally long life, as he was about equal in age 
with Joshua, and survived him. These three prom- 
inent men may have had their lives specially pro- 
longed, but even if we count one hundred and ten 
as the average length of life in Joshua's day, 
eighty-seven would be nearly four-fifths of the 
whole time, and a man of eighty-seven would be 



126 COMMENTARY ON 

advanced in years. However, from Moses' psalm 
(Ps. xc. 10), it would appear that human life then 
already had the same limits as now, and hence that 
eighty-seven was an extreme old age, far beyond 
the average years of man, exactly as it is to-day. 
There remaineth yet very much land to he pos- 
sessed. God had announced to Israel at Sinai 
(Ex. xxiii. 29, 30) that he would not drive out 
the Canaanites in one year, but by little and little, 
so that the desolated land should not be filled with 
wild beasts. Yet God again said (Deut. ix. 3), 
through Moses, that the children of Israel should 
drive them out and destroy them quickly. This 
latter is a command, and with it can be quoted the 
threat against disobedience given in Num. xxxiii. 
65, and repeated by Joshua (chap, xxiii. 13), ''but 
if ve will not drive out the inhabitants of the land 
from before you, then it shall come to pass that those 
which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in 
your eyes and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you 
in the land wherein ye dwell." From these passages, 
and from the fact that Joshua just before his death 
(chap, xxiii. 14) found no fault with Israel for 
leaving any of the Canaanites in the land, we 
gather that at the end of the seven years' conquest 
God wished Israel to cease from war (chap. xi. 23), 
and did not desire a renewal of the work of exter- 
mination until after Joshua's death. The people 
had already driven out the Canaanites quickly^ 
although not totally ; and now, with regard to those 
left in the land, when the campaigns should com- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xin. 127 

2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders 
of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, 

mence against tliem, the people of Israel were to 
act with like speed and faith. In the sequel we 
find that they did not so act, and hence fell into the 
evils predicted. In the twenty-three years from 
the end of Joshua's conquest till his death, the 
land was peacefully possessed by Israel, and the 
people became numerous enough to fill up the des- 
olated regions. (See Ex. xxiii. 29.) It will be 
noticed in this order of God to Joshua (the first 
seven verses of this chapter), although God says 
there is very much land yet to be possessed, and 
describes it, he does not command Joshua to seize 
it and subdue it, but only to divide it (ver. 6, 7), 
or allot it to the tribes. 

Ver. 2. The Philistines^ who, with the Caph- 
torim, originally came out from Caphtor (probably 
the Nile delta), settled in the Shephelah, or fertile 
and extensive plain lying between the mountains 
of Judah and the sea. (See Gen. x. 14 ; Deut. ii. 
23 ; Jer. xlvii. 4 ; Am. ix. 7.) Their five principal 
cities, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, 
occupied advantageous points on this plain. 

Craza (now Ghuzzeh) is situated two miles from 
the sea in lat. 31^ 30^, and has always been a place 
of importance. 

Ashdod^ which seems to have been the religious 
capital of the Philistines, as Gaza was their chief 
political city, is also two miles from the sea, and 
twenty-two miles north of Gaza. 



128 COMMENTARY ON 

3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the 

borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the 

Canaanite: five lords of the Phihstines ; the Gaza- 

• thites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the 

Gittites, and the Ekronites ; also the Avites : 

Aslikelon lies on a rocky ridge on the edge of the 
sea between Gaza and Ashdod. 

Grath was probably on the strong position of 
Tell es-Safieh, ten miles east of Ashdod. The hill 
is two himdred feet high. 

Ekron (now Akir) is nine miles from the sea, 
eleven miles north of (our supposed) Gath, and 
about the same distance from Ashdod, while from 
Gaza to Ekron, the two most widely separated of 
the Philistine cities, is a distance of thirty-three 
miles. The whole land of the Philistines may be 
reckoned as fifty miles in length from south to 
north, and fifteen miles m breadth from the sea to 
the mountains. Its southern and northern limits 
would be the Wady Ghuzzeh and the southern 
branch of the Nahr el-Aujeh. So large and rich a 
plain could readily support a million people, and 
if the advantages of the sea are added, a much 
larger population could dwell there. 

Greshuri^ or the Geshurites, were a part of the 
original inhabitants of the desert north of el-Arish 
and south of Gaza (1 Sam. xxvii. 8). They were 
probably Bedawin hke the Amalekites and Ger- 
izites (called Gezrites m 1. c), and part of their 
tribe or race seem to have settled in Bashan. (See 
chap. xii. 5, and in this chap. ver. 13.) 

Vee. 3. Sihor is the Nile. The words, '' which 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xni. 129 

4 From the south all the land of the Canaanites, 
and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek 
to the borders of the Amorites : 

is before Egypt," would indicate the Pelusiac arm 
as the boundary of Egypt, to which the Israelitish 
possession was to extend. In David's day (1 Chron. 
xiii. 5), this possession was made good. 

To the Canaanite. The Philistines were not 
Canaanites, but their land was counted as part of 
the Canaanitish territory. 

Grittites^ i,e.^ inhabitants of Gath. 

The Avites^ or Avim (Deut. ii. 23), were the old 
inhabitants near Gaza (Azzah in Deut. ii. 23), 
probably a gigantic race, who were destroyed by 
the Caphtorim (see on ver. 2), and a remnant of 
whom still dwelt among the Philistines. 

Veh. 4. From the south. Rather, on the south. 
This phrase belongs to the preceding words, thus, 
Also the Avites on the south. 

The land of the Canaanites was the strip of 
coast land running up from C arm el to Tyre. 

Mearah seems to be the designation of the Leb- 
anon region about the Nahr ed-Damur, the Nahr 
Beirut and the Nahr el-Kelb. Keil's notion that 
it was Mugr Jezzin is too restricted. 

Beside the Sidonians, Rather, belonging to the 
jSidonians. 

Aphek (now Af ka) is north of the sources of the 
Nahr el-Kelb and on the Nahr Ibrahim (Adonis). 
It was the spot where in later daj^s the celebrated 
temple of Venus stood. 



130 comme:n^taby o:Nr 

5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon 
toward the sun-rising, from Baal-gad under mount Her- 
mon unto the entering into Hamath. 

To the borders of the Amorites^ that is, to the 
farthermost limit of the Amorites on the north. 

Ver. 5. The Q-ihlites. Translated in 1 Kings 
V. 18, '' stone-squarers " wrongly. They are the 
people of Gebal (Ps. Ixxxiii. 7, and Ez. xxvii. 9), 
now Jebeil, on the coast a little north of the mouth 
of the Nahr Ibrahim. 

All Lebanon toward the sun-rising^ i.e.^ all Leba- 
non lying eastward of Jebeil from Baal-gad (chap, 
xi. 17) to the entering into Hamath. 

Unto the entering into Hamath, Or, " until one 
comes into Hamath." Hamath was a kingdom 
embracing all the course of the Orontes. Its south- 
ern limit was not far north of Baalbek, east of Aphek 
and Jebeil. The northern boundary of Israel is 
thus put along a line extending from the Mediter- 
ranean at or near Jebeil to the Bukaa, or Coele- 
Syria, and down the Leontes. We may imagine 
the Nahr Kadisha taking the line to the Lebanon 
pass near Bezun, and thence the Leontes forming 
the boundary to Jebel ed-Dahar, where the Jor- 
dan (Nahr Hasbeiya) would continue it until the 
neighborhood of Baneas is reached. The land in 
in its full dimensions would be two hundred and 
twenty miles long, and, starting from an apex 
above Jebeil, would reach a width of eighty miles 
at its greatest breadth, excepting the desert part 
between the Nile and the Arabah, which would 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xm. 131 

6 All the inhabitants of the hill-country from Leba- 
non unto Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, 
them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: 
only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an in- 
heritance, as I have commanded thee. 

7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance 
unto the nine tribes, and the half -tribe of Manasseh. 

8 With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have 
received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, 
beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of 
the Lord gave them ; 

be still more. From the most northern portion 
of this tract, the region of Lebanon, the old popu- 
lation were never dislodged, but in David's and 
Solomon's day it was all subject to Israel.* 

VePv. 7. With this verse ends God's command, 
which was probably given to Joshua through the 
instrumentality of the Urim and Thummim of the 
high-priest. 

Ver. 8. Here begins the statement of the sacred 
writer. 

With whom. Or, ''with it," i.e.^ with the half- 
tribe of Manasseh, and yet not the same half of 
the tribe referred to in ver. 7. 

As Moses the servant of the Lord gave them. 

* I have in these last two verses given the received view of 
Israel's northern frontier, extending it fifty miles north of the 
mouth of the Leontes. And yet I cannot heartily accept this 
view. It would make Asher's portion out of all proportion with 
the rest (chap. xix. 24-31), and it would present a long reach of 
territory which Israel never pretended to claim, except by such 
conquest as it claimed the Euphrates on one hand, and Eziongaber 
on the other. The line of Hermon and the Leontes appears to be 
much more reasonable. In such case, of course, we should give a 
difierent account of Mearah, Aphek, and the Giblites. 



132 COMMENTARY OK 

9 From Aroer thafe is upon the bank of the river 
Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, 
and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon ; 

10 And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, 
which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the chil- 
dren of Ammon; 

11 And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites 
and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all 
Bash an unto Salcah ; 

12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned 
in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the rem- 
nant of the giants. For these did Moses smite, and 
cast them out. 

13 Nevertheless, the children of Israel expelled not 
the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites : but the Geshurites 
and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until 
this day. 

14 Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheri- 
tance ; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made 
by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them. 

The repetition is to show that Moses acted by 
divine command. 

Ver. 9. Aroer^ &c. (See on chap. xii. 2.) 

The plain of Medeha unto Dibon. The same as 
*' the field of Moab " in Num. xxi. 20, the high 
plateau which stretches from the Arnon to Hesh- 
bon twenty-five miles» in which is the cit}^ Me- 
deba. Dibon (famous for the late discovery of " the 
Moabite stone ") is near its southern boundary. 

Ver. 10. ITie children of Ammon had been driven 
from the country north of the Arnon (along with 
the Moabites) by Sihon the Amorite (Num. xxi. 
26 ; Judg. xi. 13), and were now occupying the 
desert on the east. 

Ver. 11-13. See on chap. xii. 4, 5. 

Ver. 14. The tribe of Levi. (See Num. xviii. 
20-24.} While the Levites had no territory to 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xni. 133 

15 TT And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children 
of Reuben inheritance according to their famihes. 

16 And their coast was from Aroer that is on the 
bank of the river Arncn, and the city that is in the 
midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba: 

17 Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain ; 
Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, 

18 And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 

19 And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar 
in the mount of the valley, 

20 And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth- 
jeshimoth, 

21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the king- 
dom of Sihon king of the Amorites which reigned in 
Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, 
Evi and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which 
were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country. 

cultivate, they had cities to dwell in (chap. xiv. 4) 
as their own. 

Vee. 15-21. Reuben's inheritance. The Ar- 
non (Wady el-Mojib) was its southern boundary, 
dividing it from Moab. 

HesTibon lies twenty-five miles north of the Ar- 
non, and fifteen miles east of the northern end of 
the Dead Sea. 

Dibon is three miles from the Arnon. 

Bamoth-baal ^Bamoth" in Num. xxi. 19), 
Jahaza or Jahaz, Kedemoth^ Mephaath^ Sibmah 
and Zareth-shahar are not identified, though Seet- 
zen suggests Sara near the mouth of the Zerka 
Main for the last. 

Beth-baal-meon is ten miles south of Heshbon. 

Kirjathaim is by Porter placed at Kureiyat, 
seven miles south of Beth-baal-meon. 

Beth-peor J we know, was near Israel's encamp- 
ment opposite Jericho (Deut. iii. 29, and iv. 46). 



134 COMMENTARY ON 

22 ^ Balaam also the son of Beor, the sooth-sayer, 
did the children of Israel slay with the sword, among 
them that were slain by them. 

23 And the border of the children of Reuben was 
Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheri- 
tance of the children of Reuben, after their families, the 
cities and the villages thereof. 

24 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of 
Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their 
families. 

25 And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of 
Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, 
unto Aroer that is before Rabbah; 

26 And from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and 
Betonim ; and from Mahanaim unto the border of 
Debir ; 

27 And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, 
and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of 
Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and liis border, even 
unto the edge of the sea of Cinneroth, on the other side 
Jordan eastward. 

28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad 
after their families, the cities, and their villages. 

For AsTidoth'pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth^ see on 
chap. xii. 3. 

With the princes of Midian (Num. xxxi. 8). 

Ver. 22. Soothsayer or " diviner." The word 
is used of those who pretend to be prophets. 

Ver. 24-28. Gad's inheritance. The south 
line of Gad touched Heshbon (ver. 26), and the 
north line touched the Sea of Galilee in the Jordan 
valley and Mahanaim, near the sources of Wady 
Yabis by the eastern plain, while the Gilead 
mountain-country between belonged to Manasseh 
(^'half Gilead," ver. 81). The Jabbok was there 
its northern boundary. Of the ten towns men- 
tioned, Ramath-mizpeh is generally identified with 
es-Salt, twenty miles north of Heshbon (but see on 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xin. 135 

chap. XX. 8), and Malianaim is placed by some at 
Maneh, thirty miles farther north, and twenty-five 
miles south-east of the Sea of Galilee. 

Beth-aram and BetJi-nimrah are both identified 
in the valley opposite Jericho. Succoth^ mentioned 
in Jacob's history (Gen. xxxiii. 17), must be in the 
Jordan valley, near Wady Yabis, and not on the 
west side of the Jordan, as many put it. Betonhn 
is near Ramath-mizpeh. Lidbir is supposed by 
Reland to be the Lodebar of 2 Sam. xvii. 27, near 
Mahanaim. Jazer^ Aroer^ and Zaphon cannot be 
identified. 

Jazer and all the cities of Gilead (i.e,^ the south- 
ern half of Gilead), even half the land of the chil- 
dren of Ammon (the tribe of Reuben having the 
other half), unto Aroer that is before Rahhah, This 
describes the bulk of Gad's possession, Aroer mark- 
ing its eastern limit. From Heshhon unto Ramath- 
mizpeh^ and Betonim^ expresses the length of this 
tract from south to north. 

From Mahanaim unto the border of Lidhir (by 
mistake written ''Debir"). This describes the 
eastern horn of Gad that ran north into Manasseh. 
Ver. 27 describes the Jordan valley and the west- 
ern horn running up to the Sea of Galilee. 

Reuben's tract was only twenty-five miles long, 
while Gad's was in parts nearly sixty miles. Yet 
in Num. ii. 11, 15, we find that Reuben outnum- 
bered Gad. The difference was probably made up 
in the superior fertility of Reuben's land. 



136 COMMENTARY ON 

29 T And Moses gave inheritance unto the half-tribe 
of Manasseh : and this was the possession of the half- 
tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. 

30 And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, 
all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the 
towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities: 

31 And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities 
of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto 
the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to 
the one haK of the children of Machir by their fam- 
ilies. 

32 These are the countries which Moses did distribute 
for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side 
Jordan by Jericho eastward. 

33 But unto the tribe of Le^d, Moses gave not any 
inheritance: the Lord God of Israel was their inheri- 
tance, as he said unto them. 

Ver. 30. The half-tribe of Manasseh had all 
north of the latitude of 32"^ 30' (at Mahanaim), tak- 
ing in all Og's great kingdom of Bashan, which ex- 
tended eastward at least seventy-five miles from 
the Jordan, including the Hauran mountain and the 
Lejah (Argob or Trachouitis). Besides this, the 
half-tribe of Manasseh had the Gilead heights 
down to the Jabbok (half Gilead), in which were 
the towns of Jair (" Havoth-Jair," Num. xxxii. 
41). Ashtaroth and Edrei (see on chap. xii. 4) 
are mentioned as the principal cities of this large 
region. 

Ver. 31. Machir. Machir was tlie eldest son of 
Manasseh, and his family became the most powerful 
in the tribe, almost a tribe in itself, called Machir- 
ites in Num. xxvi. 29. They probably far out- 
numbered the rest of the tribe, and hence this 
whole eastern share of Manasseh went to but a 
half of the Machirites. Indeed, if we examine 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIII. 137 

chap, xvii., it would seem as if the Machirites were 
the only descendants that Manasseh had. 

Ver. 33. The Lord Grod of Israel was their in- 
heritance. This was Levi's high distinction. It is, 
therefore, again repeated. (Comp. ver. 14, also 
chap, xviii. 7.) To them were the priesthood, the 
sacrifices, cities to dwell in, and the suburbs for 
their cattle (chap. xiv. 4). God exalts his service 
above all land-possession. 



138 COMIVIENTAEY ON 



CHAPTER XIV. 

VJLlL The Inheritance of the I^ine Tribes and a 
Half. (Chap, xiv.-xix.) 

1 And these are the countries which the children of 
Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar 
the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads 
of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel dis- 
tributed for inheritance to them. 

2 By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord com- 
manded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and 
for the half -tribe. 

This section extends through chap. xix. The 
first five verses of this chapter form the preface to 
the section. 

Vek. 1. Eleazar is here first mentioned in the 
book of Joshua. His solemn investment with the 
office of the high-priesthood (as the oldest living 
son of Aaron) is recorded in Num. xx. 28. 

Heads of the fathers of the tribes^ i,e.^ chief fa- 
thers of the tribes, one for each of the ten tribes to 
be represented, Reuben and Gad being excluded, 
as having their inheritance on the east side of 
Jordan already assigned. These chiefs of the 
tribes were designated by God to Moses, before 
Israel crossed Jordan. Their names are given in 
Num. xxxiv. 19-28. Caleb was one of them, rep- 
resenting the tribe of Judah. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIV. 139 

3 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes 
and an half -tribe on the other side Jordan: but tin to 
the Levites he gave none inheritance among them. 

4 For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Ma- 
nasseh and Ephraim : therefore they gave no part unto 
the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell m, with 
their suburbs for their cattle, and for their substance. 

5 As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children 
of Israel did, and they divided the land. 

6 Tf Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua 
in Gilgal : and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Ken- 
ezite said unto him. Thou knowest the thing that the 
Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me 
and thee in Kadesh-barnea. 

Ver. 3. Among them^ Le.^ among all the tribes, 
not only the two and a half. 

But unto the Levites. " But " should be '' and." 

Ver. 4. For the children of Joseph. The " for " 
is used as showing how, with Levi left out, there 
could be so many tribes. (Comp. Gen. xlviii. 6.) 

Therefore is not in the Hebrew, and should be 
changed to " and." 

Ver. 6. Then the children of Judah^ &c. Caleb's 
portion is first given, as having probably been as- 
signed him before the formal division, and as soon as 
" the land had rest from war." Hence that phrase is 
found in ver. 15. This portion was allotted to 
Caleb on the endorsement of the tribe of Judah. 

Gilgal. The Gilgal in the centre of the land. 
(See on chap. ix. 6. Contrasted with Shiloh in chap, 
xviii. 1.) 

Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite. Lord 
Hervey thinks that Caleb was a foreigner, a prose- 
lyte, incorporated into the tribe of Judah, one of 
perhaps many who by proselytism swelled the 



140 commenta:ry ok 

nuinbers of Israel. He roentions Jetliro, Rahab, 
Ruth, and Naaman as samples. His reason for this 
supposition is, first, from the obscure genealogy of 
Caleb in the Chronicles ; secondlj^, from the four- 
teenth verse of this chapter and the thirteenth 
verse of the next ; to wit, " Hebron became the 
inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the 
Kenczite unto this day, because that he wholly 
followed Jehovah Grod of Israel,'^'' ''Unto Caleb 
the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the 
children of Judah,^^ The words in italics would 
scarcely have been used of a Hebrew. His third 
argument is from the Edomitish names mentioned in 
connection with Caleb here and in the Chronicles; 
namely, Kenaz (Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15), Shohal^ Mana- 
hath (Gen. xxxvi. 20-23), Korah^ Ithran^ Elah^ and 
Jephunneh^ as compared with Pinon (Gen. xxxvi. 
16, 26, 41). This view of Lord Hervey has great 
probability. Caleb may have married into the 
family of Hezron, and his wife may have been a 
daughter of Hur (1 Chron. ii. 50). In this case, 
Jephunneh would be his Edomite father, and '' the 
Kenezite " would be the Edomitish tribal appella- 
tion. Caleb's noble conduct in urging the people 
to go up and conquer the land on the return of the 
spies (Num. xiii. 80), for which he (and Joshua, 
who was heart and soul with him at the time) was 
nearly stoned by the enraged people (Num. xiv. 
10), made him the object of special praise and 
reward from God (Num. xiv. 24; Deut. i. 36). 
Caleb, in this chapter, is represented as preferring 
his claim to this promised reward. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIV. 141 

7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of 
the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the 
land; and I brought him word agam as it was in mine 
heart. 

8 Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me 
made the heart of the people melt : but I wholly fol- 
lowed the Lord my God. 

Kadesh-barnea^ where Israel abode so long in 
the desert, has been placed by Robinson at el- 
Weibeh, on the west heights of the Arabah, south 
of Wady Fikrah, but it is more likely to be at the 
south of the mountain region of the Azazimeh, 
perhaps at the wells of Mayein, although the 
south-east corner of Mukhrah would suit the de- 
mands of the narrative better. El-Weibeh seems 
to me from personal inspection a very unlikely 
site. It is an exposed position, and not at the 
extreme south of what afterward constituted the 
borders of Israel. 

Ver. 7. Fortyyears old, (See Num. chap, xiii., 
xiv.) The spying of the land was thirty-eight 
years before the eisodus^ or entrance into Canaan. 
Caleb was therefore seventy-eight on entering Ca- 
naan, and when he preferred his claim, at eighty- 
five (ver. 10), the Israelites had been seven years 
in the land. These seven years mark the dura- 
tion of the war of conquest. 

Vek. 8. My brethren^ {,e.^ the other spies. Of 
course Joshua is excepted, as Caleb shows by what 
he says in ver. 6, "concerning me and thee.^^ 

I wholly followed the Lord, It is not immodest 
for a man to assert his integrity on occasions of 
moment, ^^omp. Acts xxiii. 1.) Caleb here only 



142 COMMENTARY OK 

9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the 
land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine in- 
heritance, and thy children's for ever ; because thou 
hast wholly followed the Lord my God. 

10 And now, behold the Lord hath kept me alive, 
as he said, these forty and five years, even since the 
Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of 
Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am 
this day fourscore and five years old. 

11 As yet I am as strong this day, as / was in the 
day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even 
so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to 
come in. 

12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof 

quoted the Lord's words concerning him (Num. 
xxxii. 12). 

Ver. 9. The land whereon thy feet have trodden. 
(See Deut. i. 36.) Hebron is not specified. That 
was done by Joshua. 

Ver. 10. Wandered. Lit., " walked." The 
false idea that Israel was wandering about for forty 
years might be corrected by the literal translation 
of such verbs as this. In Num. xiv. 33, the Heb. 
should be translated, '' your children shall be shep- 
herds in the wilderness." The word " wander " 
occurs legitimately only in Num. xxxii. 13, as far 
as Israel is concerned. The whole forty years, 
viewed as a whole, may be regarded as a wander- 
ing, but we should remember that the people may 
for many years have remained in one centre, as at 
Kadesh. 

Ver. 11. To go out and to come in. A proverbial 
phrase for full activity. (Comp. Deut. xxxi. 2; 
1 Kings iii. 7.) 

Ver. 12. This mountain. That part of the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIV. 143 

the Lord spake in that day ; for thou heardest in that 
day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities 
toere great and fenced: if so be the Lord will he with 
me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord 
said. 

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb 
the son of Jephunneh, Hebron for an inheritance. 

14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb 
the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day; be- 
cause that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 

15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba; 
which A rha was a great man among the Anakims. And 
the land had rest from war. 



mountain region where the Anakim were. The 
" this " points to the following description. Caleb 
thus specifies Hebron and vicinity as the part of the 
region trodden by his foot as a spy which he would 
prefer. He was willing to be an example to the 
rest of Israel in driving out the enemy who still 
here and there clung to their fastnesses. He would 
take the most formidable of these foes to contend 
against. 

The passage should read, for thou heardest (the 
Lord) in that day^ for the Anakim are there^ &c. 
Two reasons are given why he should have Hebron : 
first, the Lord's promise to give him ground which 
he had trodden on as a spy ; and, secondly, the 
presence of the gigantic enemy. 

Vek. 13. Blessed him. With a public, official 
blessing before the representatives of Judah. (See 
ver. 6.) 

Ver. 14. Unto this day. The book of Joshua 
was, therefore, written while Caleb still lived. 

Ver. 15. Read, the name of Hebron before was 



144 COMMENTARY ON 

city of Arha^ the great man among the Anahim. 
The old name of '' city of Arba," or Kirjath- 
arba, clung to the place along with the name of 
Hebron. After the captivity, a thousand years 
after the conquest of the Anakim, Nehemiah calls 
the place Kirjath-arba (Neh. xi. 25), 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XV. 145 



CHAPTER XV. 

1 This then was the lot of the tribe of the children 
of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom, 
the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part 
of the south coast. 

JuDAH and Joseph, as the two great tribes, divid- 
ing the birthright between them (1 Chron. v. 1, 2), 
had the land first divided between them, their 
general outlines being given. Afterwards the 
other tribes are arranged, modifying the first divi- 
sion. The lot probably gave only general indica- 
tions, while the commissioners (chap. xiv. 1) 
made the special allotments, according to circum- 
stances. 

JudaVs Lot, 

Ver. 1. The south boundary is made to begin at 
the south end of the Dead Sea. Thus the south- 
ern part of the east boundary is included in this 
south boundary. It is a natural and reasonable 
license. This verse should read. And the lot to the 
tribe of the sons of Judah^ to their families^ was 
to the boundary of Edom^ the desert of Zin south- 
wards from the extremity of Teman. Teman means 
'^ south," it is true, but as the writer has just used 
*'Negeb" for ''south," and uses it immediately 
7 J 



146 COMMENTARY ON 



2 And their south border was from the shore of the 
salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward: 

3 And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-acrab- 
bim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the 
south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to 
Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass 
to Karkaa: 



again in yer. 2, it is almost certain that here he 
means '' Teman " for the country of Teman, which 
seems to have been the southern portion of Edom, 
perhaps from Mount Hor to the Red Sea. The 
boundary of Judah was, according to this passage, 
the boundary of Edom, along the Arabah to the 
point where, in the Arabah, you reach the north 
extremity of Teman, near Mount Hor. This point 
is exactly opposite Mukhrah, near which we believe 
Kadesh is to be sited. 

Vek. 2. Bay. Lit., '' tongue." Reference is 
had to the shallow basin at the south of the Dead 
Sea, which is shut in like a bay by the remarkable 
projection of land from Moab. 

Vek.. 3. Maaleh-Acrahhim ('' Height of Scorpi- 
ons " ) is supposed by Robinson to be the range of 
chalky cliffs which abruptly terminate the Arabah, 
eight miles south of the Dead Sea. Over this cliff 
the border passed into the Zin desert (z.^., the "Ara- 
bah) ; and when it had reached its southernmost 
point (see on ver. 1), it turned westward, and 
climbed out of the Arabah up to Kadesh (chap. xiv. 
6). From Kadesh the horAQT passed to Hezron, then 
went up to Adar, then turned itself to Karkaa, then 
passed to Azmon, and went out to the river of Egypt, 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XV. 147- 

4 From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out 
unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that 
coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast. 

and so went out to the sea. These different verbs 
may help fix the sites of these places. We may 
suppose a west line to Hezron, then on a line still 
going west an ascent to Adar, then a bend north- 
westwards to Karkaa, then a continuation of this 
hue to Azmon, and then, by another turn (Num. 
xxxiv. 5), to the river of Egypt. Now the ''river 
of Egypt," or rather " torrent of Egypt," is believed 
to be the Wady el-Arish. If this be so (and the 
presumption is very strong), then we may put Az- 
mon a little east of Jebel Helal, and Karkaa by 
Wady el-Jerur. Adar would be on the heights hj 
Jebel Ikhrurim, and Hezron at the south of the 
Mukhrah. 

Of course all this is conjecture, but founded on 
the verbs used in the description. None of these 
places is identified. If our conjecture be correct, 
then the tribe of Judah extended forty miles 
further south than the Dead Sea, and its southern 
curved boundary was one hundred miles long 
from the Arabah to the mouth of Wady el-Ar- 
ish. (Others would have the south boundary 
run through Wady Fikrah, Wady Maderah, and 
Wady Muzzeh). 

Vee,. 4. This shall he your south coast. This is 
an insertion of the sacred writer, asserting to all 
Israel that Judah's south boundary thus given 
should be the south boundary of all Israel. 



148 CO]M]\IENTARY ON 

5 And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the 
end of Jordan: and their border in the north quarter 
was from the bay of the sea, at the uttermost part of 
Jordan : 

6 And the border went up to Beth-hogla, and passed 
along by the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went 
up to the stone of Bohan the son of Eeuben; 

Ver. 5. The east border of Judah (excluding 
the east border already given in the south border, 
see on yer. 1) was the Dead Sea in its entire 
length, the north border finding its eastern corner 
at the northern extremity of that sea, where the 
Jordan empties into it. The north border is de- 
scribed from this verse to ver. 11, inclusive, and 
although this border is not much more than half 
the length of the south border, yet far more details 
are given, on account of the greater importance of 
this inter-tribal border, and also on account of the 
well-marked localities which made an exact de- 
scription easy. 

Ver. 6. BetJi-hogla (now Ain-hajla) is about 
four miles north-west of the exit of the Jordan. 
The border went up out of the Jordan hollow to 
this point. 

Beth-ardbah must have been in the northern 
Arabah or Ghor, as was Beth-hogla. In ver. 61, 
it is said to be in " the wilderness," which name 
includes evidently so much of the depressed plain of 
Jordan as belonged to Judah. Since in chap, xviii., 
where this border is again given, a " shoulder " or 
ridge is mentioned (translated " side "), as by Beth- 
arabah and Beth-hogla, we may put Beth-arabah 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XV. 149 

7 And the border went up toward Debir from the 
valley of Achor, and so northward looking toward 
Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which 
is on the south side of the river: and the border passed 
toward the waters of En-shemesh, and the goings out 
thereof were at En-rogel: 

west of Beth-liogla, about a mile near the ridge 
of Katar Hhadije, a low ridge running through the 
Arabah to the Dead Sea. (See Keil.) 

The stone of Bohan the son of Reuben was some 
monument erected probably by Israel while en- 
camping at Gilgal, after taking Jericho, perhaps 
commemorating a prominent Reubenite. It must 
have been on the spur of the heights west of the 
Ghor. 

Ver. 7. The valley of Aehor must be the Wady 
Keltc (See on chap. vii. 24.) Up that wady the 
line ran toward Dehir (somewhere near the Khan 
Hudrur, near which is Wady Dabor). Then it 
turned northward to Gilgal ('' Geliloth " in chap, 
xviii. 17), which is opposite the going up to Adum- 
mim. This latter place is identified with Kalaat 
ed-Dem on the north of the Jerusalem and Jericho 
road, where the soil is red. Adummim signifies 
"red." This Gilgal (or Geliloth), therefore, is a 
place near this spot, and not the Gilgal where 
Israel encamped down in the Arabah or Ghor. 

The river mentioned here is Wady Kelt. The 
word means " torrent," or ''torrent-valley." 

En-shemesh is now Ain el-Hodh, below Bethany. 

En-rogel is the well-known fountain of Job or 
Nehemiah in the deep defile south-east of Jerusa- 
lem. 



150 CO:\riMENTAIlY ON 

8 And the border went up by the valley of the son 
of Hinnom, unto the south side of the Jebusite; the 
same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top 
of the mountam that lieth before the valley of Hmnom 
westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants 
north v^'ard: 

9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill 
unto the fountain of the water of Xephtoah, and went 
out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was 
drawn to Baalah, which is Ivirjath-jearim: 

10 And the border compassed from Baalah west- 
ward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side 
of mount Jearim (which is Chesalon) on the north 
side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on 
to Timnah: 

Ver. 8. The valley/ of the son of Hinnom is the 
deep ravine skirting the south of Jerusalem. It is 
called here also ''the valley of Hinnom" Qge-hin- 
nom)^ from which form comes the use of Ge-henna 
for the place of eternal punishment. 

The Jebusite, So " the Archite " and " the 
Japhletite " in the Hebrew (chap. xvi. 2, 3). TBe 
Gentile noun is used for the noun of locality. 

The valley of the giants (Rephaim) is a broad 
and shallow depression running southward from 
the brow of the valley of Hinnom. 

The mountain mentioned in this verse is the 
ridge by the Convent of the Cross. 

Ver. 9. JSfeijhtoah is now Lifta. on the edge of 
Wady Beit Hanina. 

Mount Ephron must be the high range from 
Neby Samwil to Soba. 

Baalah^ or Kirjath-jearim^ is identified with Kur- 
yet el-Enab. 

Ver. 10. Mount Seir is the high ridge on which 
is Saris. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XV. 151 

11 And the border went out unto the side of Ekron 
northward: and the border was drawn to Shicroii, and 
passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jab- 
neel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea. 

12 And the west border was to the great sea, and the 
coast thereof: this is the coast of the children of Judah 
round about, according to their families. 

18 ^ And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave 
a part among the children of Judah, according to the 
commandment of the Lord to Joshua, even the city of 
Arba to the father of Anak, which city is Hebron. 

14 And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, 
Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of 
Anak. 

15 And he went up thence to the inhabitants of 
Debir : and the name of Debir before was Kirjath- 
sepher. 

Mount Jearim^ or Chesalon (on Mount Jearim), 
is now Kesla, on the lofty summit between Wady 
Ghurah and Wady Ismain. 

Beth-shemesh is now Ain Shems. 

Timnath^ conspicuous in Samson's history, is 
Tibneh, where one looks out on the Philistine 
plain. 

Ver. 11. Ekron, (See chap. xiii. 3.) 

Shieron cannot be identified. 

Mount Baalah must be the ridge west of Ekron. 

Jahneel is Yebna, south and west of the Nahr 
Rubin. 

Ver. 12. The west border of Judah was the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

Ver. 13. See on chap. xiv. 6-15. 

Ver. 14-19. This reconquest of Hebron and 
vicinity occurred after Joshua's death. (See 
Judg. i. 1, 9-15.) It is here inserted as apper- 
taining to the history of Judah's allotment. The 



152 COMMENTARY ON 

16 Tf And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, 
and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter - 
to wife. 

17 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of 
Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter 
to wife. H 

18 And it came to pass, as she came u7ito Mm, that 
she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she 

reason why Caleb waited more than twentj^ years 
before reconquering his inheritance may have been 
his desire to see all others settled before himself, 
for he was a man of a large and noble nature. 

The three sons of AnaJc is probably the three 
families of the Anakim. 

JDehir. (See on chap. x. 38.) 

Vee. 16. Caleb was now (^^g., after Joshua's 
death) about one hundred and eight years old, and 
hence sought others to fight his battles. 

Vee.. 17. Othniel the son of Kenaz ^ the hrother of 
Caleb. The Masorites, by their pointing (both 
here and in Judg. i. 13, and iii. 9), make Othniel 
the brother of Caleb. This would make Achsah 
marry her uncle, which Keil asserts was not for- 
bidden in the law. It seems, however, to be 
against the spirit of Lev. xviii. 14. Moreover, it is 
unlikely that Caleb should have a brother so young 
as to be a judge of Israel for forty years after 
Joshua's death (Judg. iii. 11). I prefer, therefore, 
to take the word " brother " to refer to Kenaz, the 
younger brother of Caleb, whose son was Othniel. 
Kenaz would be a family name, repeated in 0th- 
niel's father. 

Ver. 18. Achsah induced her new husband to 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XV. 153 

lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What 
wouldest thou? 

19 Who answered, Give me a blessing ; for thou 
hast given me a south land, give me also springs of 
water: and he gave her the upper springs, and the 
nether springs. 

20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children 
of Judah according to their families. 

ask a piece of land from her father. This being 
given, Achsah herself, on alighting from her ass at 
her husband's dwelling, to which Caleb had accom- 
panied her, looks a request at her father, and, on 
his inquiry, speaks it. 

Caleb had given her, as a marriage portion, at 
Othniel's request, a south land (or, lit., ^' the south 
land "), probably a well-known region near Hebron, 
which was exposed to extreme heats. Achsah 
asks for the possession of springs, to which her 
cattle may have access. The father, full of affec- 
tion, gives her more than she asks for. He gives 
her two sources of water, known in the neigh- 
borhood as GuUoth Illiyyoth and GuUoth Tach- 
tiyyoth ('' the upper springs '* and '' the lower 
springs "). 

Vee. 20. This is the preface to the list of prin- 
cipal towns of Judah, which follow in four sec- 
tions, those in the Negeh (the technical " south " 
of Judah, including all south of a line from the 
Dead Sea opposite el-Lisan to the Mediterranean 
near Gaza), those in the SJiephelali (the fertile 
plain on the coast) , those in the mountain country, 
and those in the wilderness (the Jordan valley 
and west skirts of the Dead Sea). In this list the 
7* 



154 COMMENTARY ON 

21 And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the chil- 
dren of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward 
were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur, 

22 And lunah, and Dimonah, and Adadah, 

23 And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithman, 
* 21 Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, 

25 And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, 
which is Hazor, 

26 Amam, and Shema, and Moladah, , 

absence of the conjunction shows in each case the 
beginning of a new group. 

Ver. 21. First Division. The towns of the 
Negeb. This region was intermediate between 
the fertile country and the desert. It was princi- 
pally a grazing country, though here and there 
susceptible of cultivation. 

First group. Kahzeel^ Eder^ and Jagur are not 
identified. 

Vee. 22. Kinah^ Dimonah^ Adadah. All un- 
known. 

Ver. 23. Kedesh is Kadesh-barnea (chap. xiv. 
6.) Hazor is probably the Hezron of chap. xv. 3. 
Ithman is unknown. 

Ver. 24. Second group. Ziph, Telem, Bealoth. 
All unknown. 

Ver. 25. Should read, '' And Sazor-hadattah 
(new Hazor), and Kerioth-hezron, which is ITazor.^^ 
These places are unknown. Hazor and Hezron 
each mean " walled town." Hence the name is 
common. 

Ver. 26. Third group. Amam and Shema are 
unknown. Moladah is el-Milh, east of Beer- 
sheba. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XY. 155 

27 And Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth- 
palet, 

28 And Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, and Biz- 
jothjah, 

29 Baalah, and lim, and Azem, 

3Q And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah, 

31 And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah, 

32 And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rim- 
mon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their vil- 
lages: 

Vee,. 27. Hazar-gaddaTi^ HesTimon^ Beth-palet^ 
are unknown. 

Ver. 28. HazaT'Shiial and Bizjothjah are un- 
known. Beer-sheba is Bir es-Seba. 

Ver. 29. Fourth group. Baalah^ lim^ Azem^ 
are unknown. 

Ver. 30. Bltolad and Chesil are unknoAvn, al- 
though Knobel ingeniously connects the latter with 
Khulasa (Elusa). It seems to be the same as 
Bethul of chap. xix. 4, Bethuel of 1 Chron. iv. 30, 
and Bethel of 1 Sam. xxx. 27. Hormah. (See on 
chap. xii. 14.) 

Ver. 31. Ziklag is probably Aslaj on the road 
from el-Milh to Abdeh. Madmannah and Sansan- 
nah^ called Beth-marcabeth and Hazar-susah in 
chap. xix. 6, are not known. 

Ver. 32. Lehaoth is Beth-lebaoth in chap. xix. 6, 
and Beth-birei in 1 Chron. iv. 31. Shilhim is 
Sharuhen in chap. xix. 6, and Shaaraim in 1 
Chron. iv. 31. Neither of these are known, nor 
are Ain and Bimmon. 

Tiventy and nine. There are thirty-six in the 
list. As numbers were always liable to incorrect 
transcription, this is doubtless an instance. 



156 COISOIENTARY ON 

33 And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and 
Ashnah, 

34 And Zanoah, and En-gannim, Tappnah, and 
En am, 

35 Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, 

36 And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah,.and 
Gederothaim ; fourteen cities with their villages : 

37 Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, 

38 And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, 

Ver. 33. Second Diyision. i?^ the valley^ i.e,^ 
the Shephelah. The " Ashedoth,'' or '' outpour- 
ings of the wadies," are included here in the Sheph- 
elah. These Ashedoth are the western spurs of 
the mountains. The word is translated "springs " 
in chap. xii. 8. 

First group. UsJitaol is probably Yeshu'a, four- 
teen miles west of Jerusalem. Zoreah is Zurah, 
very near to Eshtaol. Ashnah is unknown. 

Vee. 34. Zanoah is Zanua. JEii-gannim is un- 
known. 

Second group. Tappuah and Enam are un- 
known. 

Veh. 35. Third group. Jarmuth. (See on chap, 
xii. 15.) Adullam. (See on chap. xii. 15.) 

Fourth group. Socoh is Shuweikeh, near to and 
south of Jarmuth. Azekah, (See on chap. x. 10.) 

Ver. 36. Sharaim^ or Shaaraim, is undoubtedly 
Tell Zakariya on the edge of Wady Sumt. Adith- 
aim^ Gederah^ and Crederothaim are unknown 
Gederah may be Kudna, south of Deir Dubban. 

Fourteen cities. There are fifteen in the list. 
(See remark on ver. 32.) 

Veb. 37-41. Fifth group. Zenan^ Hadashah^ 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XY. 157 

39 Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon, 

40 And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish, 

41 And Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and 
Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages: 

42 Libnah, and Ether, and Ash an, 

43 And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, 

44 And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah ; nine 
cities with their villages: 

45 Ekron, with her towns and her villages: 

46 From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near 
Ashdod, with their villages: 

47 Ashdod, with her towns and her villages; Gaza, 
with her towns and her villages, unto the river of 
Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof: 

Migdal-gad^ Dilean^ Mizpeh^ Johtheel, Sixth group. 
Lachish^ Bozkath. Eglon^ Cahhon^ Lahmam^ Kithlish^ 
Grederoth. Seventh group. Beth-dagon^ Naamah^ 
Mahkedah. Of these sixteen towns only Lachish 
and Eglon are identified with any certainty. (See 
on chap. x. 3.) Migdal-gad may be Mejdel, near 
Ashkelon, and Cabhon possibly may be Kubeibeh, 
seven miles east of Eglon. Grederoth is prob- 
ably the same as the Kedron of 1 Mace. xv. 39, 41, 
and xvi. 9, now Kutrah, south of the Nehr Rubin. 
Joktheel may be Huleikat, north of Um Lakis. 
Makkedah. (See on chap. x. 10.) 

Veh. 42-44. Eighth group. Libnah, Ether, 
Ashan, Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, 
Mareshah, For Libnah, see on chap. x. 29. 
Keilah may be Kila, at the head of the Safieh or 
Monsurah Wady. Achzib is put at Ain Kusaba 
by Keil. Mareshah is probably Maresh, south of 
Beit Jibrin. Nezib is Beit Nusib, near Kila. The 
other four places are unknown. 

Ver. 45-47. Ninth group. Ekron, Ashdod, and 



158 comme:n"taiiy on" 

48 T[ And in tlie mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and 
Socoh, 

49 And Dannah, and Kirjath-sannah, which is Debir, 

50 And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim, 

51 And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh ; eleven cities 
with their villages : 

Graza are mentioned of the Philistine cities, because 
they touch the northern, western, and southern 
hmits of the PhiUstine land. Gath and Ashkelon 
are omitted, as included in this outline. No further 
detail is given, because Israel never gained full 
possession of this region until the days of Solomon, 
and even then did not themselves occupy it. 

Ver. 46. Read, From Fkron seaward (or west- 
ward), all (z.^., the cities) that ivas on the Ashdod 
side and their (the unnamed cities) villages. Be- 
tween Ekron and Ashdod were some large and 
important Philistine cities, although not so famous 
as the five, as, for example, Jabneh (2 Chron. 
xxvi. 6), called Jabneel in this chapter, ver. 11. 
The LXX reads Jabneh (in the form Jemnai) in 
this place for the phrase '' even unto the sea." 

Vek. 47. The river of Egypt, (See on ver. 4.) 

The border of the great sea is the strip of land be- 
tween the cities and the water. 

Ver. 48. Third Division. In the mountains^ {,e.^ 
in the " hill-country," or mountain centre of the re- 
gion between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. 
Its height at Hebron is three thousand feet above 
the sea. It is a limestone range, with rich valleys. 

Ver. 48-51. First group. Shamir is unknown. 
Jattir is Attir. Socoh is Shuweikeh. Dannah 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XY. 159 

52 Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean, 

53 And Janum, and Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, 

54 And Humtah, and Kirjath-arba (\Yhich is Hebron) 
and Zior; nine cities with their villages: 

55 Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Jiittah, 

56 And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, 

57 Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their 
villages : 

is perhaps, as Knobel suggests, Zanutah. Kirjath- 
sannah^ or Debir. (See on chap. x. 88.) Anab is 
still so called. Eshtemoh is es-Semua. Anim is 
el*Ghuwein. Cioshen^ Holon^ and Giloh are un- 
known. The first of the three is, doubtless, con- 
nected with the "land of Goshen" of chap. x. 
41, and chap. xi. 16. (See 1. c.) All this group 
occupies the region about the sources of Wady 
el-Khulil. 

Ver. 52-54. Second group. Arab and Eshean 
are unknown. Dumah is Daumeh. Janum and 
ApTiekah are unknown. Beth-tappuah is Teffuh. 
Eumtah and Zior are unknown. Kirjath-arba^ or 
Hebron. (See on chap. x. 8.) All this group is 
north of the first. 

Ver. 55-56. Third group. 3Iaon is Main. Car- 
mel is Kurmul. These two places are so close to- 
gether, that the lack of a conjunction cannot be 
considered as putting them in different groups. 
Perhaps the conjunction has dropped out. Ziph is 
Zif, Juttah is Jutta. Jezreel^ Jokdeam^ and Zanoah 
are unknown. This group lies east of the other two. 

Ver. 67. Fourth group. Cain, Gilbeali, and 
Timnah are unknown. A ivav (i.e,, " and ") is 
probably dropped between Cain and Gibeah. 



160 co:m:mextap.y ox 

53 Halhiil. Beth-ziir. and Gedor, 

59 And Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six 
cities with their villages : 

60 Kirjath-baal (which is Kirjath-jearmi) and Rab- 
bah; two cities with their villages: 

61 In the wilderness, Beth-araba, Middin. and Se- 
cacah, 

62 And Xibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi; 
six cities with their villages. 

Ter. 58, 59. Fifth group. Salhid^ BetJi-zur^ and 
Gedor still retain their names, scarcely altered at 
all. Maaratli may be Beit Kheiran. Beth-anoth 
is Beit-anim. Eltekon is nnknovrn. This group 
is north of all the preceding. The sixth group, as 
given in the LXX, is vranting in the Hebrew. 
They have been accidentally cbopped out. They 
are Theko (Tekua), Ephratha orBaithleem (Beth- 
lehem, now Beit-lahm), Phagor (Faghur), Aitan 
(Ain Attan), Eoulon (Kuloniyeh), Tatam, Thobes, 
Karem (Ain Karim), Galem, Thether (Bittir),and 
Manocho. This group is north of all the rest. 

Veb. 60. Seventh group. Kirjatli-laal, or Ivii^- 
jath-jearim. (See on chap. ix. 17.) Rahhahi^ not 
identified. 

Vee. 61, 62. Foiuth Di\ision. In tJie wilder' 
ness, i.e.^ the eastern slope of the mountain region, 
which is bare and ruo'o'ed to the Dead Sea. and 
including so much of the Jordan plain as apper- 
tained to Judah. It was all a barren region, 
except in small oases by fountains. 

Beth-arabah. (See on ver. 6.) Jliddin is per- 
haps Mird. Secacali may be Ain el-Feshkhah. 
Nibshan cannot be identified. Irdiammelacli (city 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XV. 161 

63 ^ As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: 
but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at 
Jerusalem unto this day. 

of salt) may be preserved in the Wady er-Rmail. 
It must have been in that southern region of the 
Dead Sea. (Comp. 2 Sam. viii. 13 ; 2 Ki. xiv. 7 ; 
Ps. Ix. 2.) JEn-gedi is Ain Jidi. 

Vee.. 63. With the children of Judah, Jerusa- 
lem belonged to Benjamin. But on comparing 
chap, xviii. 28, Judg. i. 21, and this verse together, 
it seems that Judah and Benjamin had combined 
to reduce this city, but on failing, had both been 
represented in the settlement of the lower town, 
the citadel on Zion remaining till David's time in 
the hands of the Jebusites. 



162 COMINIENTAKY ON 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Joseph's Lot. 



1 AxD the lot of the children of Joseph fell from 
Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho, on the 
east, to the AYilderness that goeth up from Jericho 
throughout mount Beth-el, 

Ver. 1. Fell. Heb., "went forth." The word 
constantly used with this translation in all this 
description of boundary. " The lot went forth " 
means exactly the same with '' the border went 
forth," as in verses 6 and 8, the lot being used 
metaphorically for its result. 

The water of JericJio is the celebrated Ain es-Sul- 
tan, the source of Jericho's fertility. 

On the east. This phrase is used here preg- 
nantly. It means that this line from the Jordan 
to Jericho's waters was east of the Mount Bethel 
wilderness, and yet it serves to show that this 
whole portion of the boundary was the eastern 
portion. The ''to" is not found in the Hebrew 
before '' the wilderness." 

Mount Bethel is the high bare region lying east 
of Bethel, on which probably the golden calf of 
BetBfel was in later ages situated. 

This boundary probably followed up the Wady 
Nawaimeh and Mutyah the whole way from the 
Jordan to Bethel. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XYI. 163 

2 And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth 
along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth, 

3 And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, 
unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: 
and the goings out thereof are at the sea. 

4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, 
took their inheritance. 



Ver. 2. From Bethel to Luz. This Luz is Khur- 
bet el-Lozeli, three and a half miles west of Bethel, 
which was perhaps the city built hj the man who 
came from the other Luz (Bethel). (See Judg. i. 
26. Also see Van de Velde's Notes on the Map, 
2d ed. p. 16.) 

The borders of Archly or rather " the border of 
the Archite." The Archite, like the " Jebusite," 
may refer to a remnant of an old Canaanite tribe, 
or some inhabitant of the Babylonian Erech (of 
wliich '' Archite " is the Gentile noun) may have 
settled in this part of Canaan. 

Ataroth cannot be Atara, a mile or two south of 
Beeroth, but must be sought near the nether Beth- 
horon. (See chap, xviii. 13.) 

Ver. 8. Japhleti, Rather, ''the Japhletite." 
Who he was we cannot tell. But his locality must 
have been, it seems, between Wady Suleiman and 
the Beth-horon pass. 

Grezer, (See on chap. x. 33.) 

The places mentioned in these surveys are not 
necessarily on the lines. They may be mentioned as 
prominent localities near the lines. We believe that 
the line of Joseph started at the Jordan with Wady 
Nawaimeh, and followed that wady (afterward 



164 COMMENTARY ON 

5 If And the border of the children of Ephraim ac- 
cording to their families was thus : even the border of 
their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, 
unto Beth-horon the upper; 

6 And the border went out toward the sea to Mich- 
methah on the north side ; and the border went about 
eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the 
east to Janohah; 

called Mutyah) to Bethel's vicinity, and then 
struck over to Wady Budrus and Wady Muzeirah 
to the sea. Tlfis would be a natural and readily 
followed boundary. But in making it, we cannot 
consider the places mentioned as exactly on the line. 

Ver. 5. The border of Ephraim is here desig- 
nated as forming a part of Joseph. There seems 
to be some error in the text in this verse. We 
should expect to read, " the border of their inheri- 
tance G'.^., their south border) was from the east to 
Ataroth-addar and Beth-horon the nether,'' The 
same boundary of course as that described in ver. 
1-3 is here intended, for Ephraim lying south of 
Manasseh would have Joseph's south boundary as 
his south boundary. The Hebrew mizraehah^ '^ on 
the east side," may be an error for mimmizrach^ 
''from the east." Or mi.2ra(?7iaA may mean, '' be- 
ginning on the east side." (See remark on yammah 
in the next note.) Ataroth-addar must be the same 
as Ataroth in ver. 2. Beth-horon the nether lies 
at the foot of the pass on a rising ground, and by it 
swept the boundary line (ver. 3). It is true Beth- 
horon the upper is not far off, at the summit of the 
pass ; but why should the change be made ? 

Vek. 6. Michmethah is '' over against" (al pne) 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XVI. 165 

7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and 
to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at 
Jordan. 

Shechem (chap. xvii. 7). This is generally used 
for an easterly direction, yet it need not be very 
near, as Mount Abarim is over against Jericho, and 
yet fifteen miles off. (Deut. xxxii. 49.) 

The border here is evidently the north border of 
Ephraim, and the description begins at the middle 
and runs eastward. The difficulty is in rendering 
Tiayyammah ('' toward the sea"). We should ex- 
pect '-'-from the sea." It is probable that a clause 
has dropped out, and that this phrase, '' and the 
border went out to the sea," belongs to the south 
boundary and the fifth verse. Then there may 
have been a sentence, '-^ and the harder passed from 
the sea to Michmethah on the north side." Yet 
"yammah" is used in chap, xviii. 15, for "on the 
west," and may possibly refer here to the beginning 
of the north border as on the west of what follows. 
Michmethah may be at the south end of the 
Mukhna, where some place the brook Mochmur of 
Judith vii. 18, near Akrabeh (Ekrebel of Judith, 
1. c.) In that case, Taanath-shiloh would be on the 
Makhfuriyeh Wady, receiving its name perhaps 
fi'om its nearness to Shiloh. 

Janohah is Yanun. 

Ver. 7. Ataroth (evidently a different place 
from the Ataroth of ver. 2 and ver. 6) and Naar- 
ath are not known. ^ 

Came to Jericho. Very curiously the north and 



166 COMMENTAKY OX 

8 The border went out from Tappuah westward unto 
the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the 
sea. This is the inheritance oi the tribe of the children 
of Ephraim by their famiUes. 

9 And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim 
were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, 
all the cities with their villages. 

10 And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt 
in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraim- 
ites unto this day, and serve under tribute. 

south boundaries of Ephraim met at Jericho. 
From Jericho to the Jordan we must draw sepa- 
rate lines for the two, or else why should the Jor- 
dan be mentioned at all in the north boundary ? 
Perhaps the south boundary was Wady Nawaimeh, 
and the north boundary was Wady Diab, the Jeri- 
cho district being intended by " Jericho." 

Ver. 8. Tappiiah I would put at or near Hareth 
on the Wady Kanah, and consider this wady the 
river Kanah, becoming the Nahr el-Anjeh as it 
approaches the sea. 

Ver. 9. (Comp. chap. xvii. 11.) There may have 
been in this interminghng of tribal territory a de- 
sign to maintain the common brotherhood. 

Ver. 10. G-ezer was a border town (see ver. 3), 
and, if the present Yasur, was on the south bank of 
the wady that was Ephraim's south border. 






JOSHUA, CHAP. xvn. 167 



CHAPTER XVII. 

1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; 
for he was the first-born of Joseph; to wit, for Machir 
the first-born of Manasseh, the father of Giiead: be- 
cause he was a man of war, therefore he had Giiead 
and Bashan. 

2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of 
Manasseh by their families ; for the children of Abiezer, 
and for the children of Helek, and for the children of 
Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the 
children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: 
these were the male children of Manasseh the son of 
Joseph by their families. 

3 1[ But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of 
Giiead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had 
no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his 
daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and 

' Tirzah. 

Ver. 1. Manasseh's lot is described as forming 
part of Josepli. For the descendants of Machir, 
see on chap. xiii. 81. 

Vee,. 2. According to Num. xxvi. 29-32, these 
six famiUes of Manasseh's tribe were descended 
also from Machir. They were, moreover, all de- 
scended from Giiead, i.e,^ all ''Gileadites " (Num. 
xxvi. 29). These Gileadites had shown remarkable 
valor in conquering the country east of Jordan, 
and hence had received a double inheritance, one 
portion on the east side, in addition to their portion 
on the west. 

Vee.. 3. Zelophehad seems to have been the only 
representative of the Hepherites, or children of 



168 COMMENT AH Y ON 



4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and 
before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the prmces, 
saying, The Lord commanded Moses to give us an 
inheritance among our brethren : therefore according 
to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an 
inheritance among the brethren of their father. 

5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides 
the land of Gilead and Bashan, which ivere on the other 
side Jordan; 

6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an in- 
heritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's 
sons had the land of Gilead. 

7 IT And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to 
Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border 
went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of 
En-tappuah. 

8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tap- 
puah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children 
of Ephraim: 



Hepher. Hence his five daughters received the 
Hepherite portion by a special legislation. (See 
Num. xxvii. 1-11.) 

Vee. 4. They now prefer their claim. 

Vee. 5. Ten portions. Six as above ; to wit, 
the Abiezrites, Helekites, Asrielites, Shechemites, 
Hepherites (represented by Zelophehad's daugh- 
ters), and Shemidaites. Besides these, there must 
have been four other Manassite families, not Gil- 
eadites, perhaps not Machirites, represented on the 
west side. 

Ver. 7. Asher, Not the tribe, but a town. I 
take it to be Ausarin, on the Makhfuriyeh Wady. 
For Miclimethah and En-tapimah (Tappuah), see 
on chap. xvi. 6, 8. For Shechem^ see chap. xx. 7. 

Ver. 8. The land of Tappuah would be the Je- 
bel Salmon or Sleiman. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xvn. 169 

9 And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, 
southward of the river. These cities of Ephraim ore 
among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh 
also loas on the north side of the river, and the out- 
goings of it were at the sea: 

10 Southward it laas Ephraim' s, and northward it 
was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they 
met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on 
the east. 

11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher, 
Beth-shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, 
and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the 
inhabitants of En-dor and her towns, and the inhabi- 
tants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of 
Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. 

Ver. 9. There must be an error in this text. I 
would read, '' And the coast descended unto the 
river Kanah. Southward of the river these cities 
are of Ephraim, and the coast of Manasseh was on 
the north side of the river." Keil's explanation 
only makes the " muddle " worse. For the river 
Kanah, see on chap. xvi. 8. 

Ver. 10. And they met together in Asher. 
Rather, " And they (the Manassites) reached to 
Asher." They reached Asher on the coast, and 
they reached Issachar on the great plain. 

Issachar on the east^ i.e.^ on the east of Asher. 

Ver. 11. Beth-shean is Beisan. Ibleam is sup- 
posed to be at Jelameh. Dor is Tantura. En-dor 
bears the same name still on the Duhy Mountain. 
Taanach is Taanuk. Megiddo is Lejjun. 

Three countries. Rather, " the tiiree heights," 

probably the name given to the Tell Taanuk, the 

Tell Metsellim, and the height on which Megiddo 

stood. Taanach and Megiddo are twin towns, and 

8 



170 COMMENTARY ON 

12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out 
tlie inhabitants 0/ those cities; but the Canaanites would 
dwell in that land. 

13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel 
were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to 
tribute ; but did not utterly drive them out. 

11 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, 
saying, Why hast thou given me hut one lot and one 
portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch 
as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto? 

15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great 
people, then get thee up to the y^oodi- country, and cut 
down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites 
and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for 
thee. 

Megiddo occupied probably tbe two heights indi- 
cated. 

Ver. 12. The fact that these towns were within 
the borders of another tribe probably caused this 
apathy. See the case of Gezer in chap. xvi. 10. 

Vee,. 13. The old ''cherem " order of God was 
forgotten and neglected as time passed on. 

Vek. 14. They call it one lot and one portion, 
because the portion had probably been drawn by 
one lot out of the urn. But it was ample for the 
two tribes, or rather the one tribe and a half, for 
they were less numerous than other single tribes. 
They forget, too, that a part of their brethren had 
inherited the largest section of all beyond the Jor- 
dan. The Ephraimites were probably the princi- 
pal complainers. Compare their conduct at other 
times (Judg. viii. 1, and xij. 1). 

Vee,. 15. Joshua gives them permission to go to 
the highlands of the Perizzites and giants (Reph- 
aim) and settle. Those highlands are probably the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xvn. 171 

16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not 
enough for ns: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the 
land of the valley have chariots of iron, hoth they who 
are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of 
the valley of Jezreel. 

17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even 
to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great 
people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one 
lot only: 

18 But the mountain shall be thine ; for it is a wood, 
and thou shalt cut it down: and the out-goings of it 
shall be thine : for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, 
though they have iron chariots, and though they he 
strong. 

mountains of Gilboa, lying between Beth-shean 
and Jezreel. A remnant of the Perizzites and 
Rephaim had strengthened themselves there. 

Mount JEphraim is the mountain-land north of 
Judah and extending to the great plain, and lying 
between the coast-plain and the Jordan Ghor. It 
is now so called, as Ephraim had just received a 
part of it as an inheritance. There is some irony 
in Joshua's words, and he may call the region 
Mount Ephraim, because Ephraim was the chief 
complainer. 

Vee. 16. The hill. Rather, '' the mountain." 
That is, the Gilboa mountain just offered them. 
That would not be enough, and they could not 
descend and occupy any of the Beth-shean plain 
east of Gilboa, or of the Jezreel plain west of 
Gilboa, because of the formidable chariots of the 
Canaanites still holding those parts. 

Ver. 17, 18. Joshua continues his irony. They 
were so strong and brave a people, that they should 
have another lot, the Gilboa country and its adjoin- 



172 COMMENTARY OK 

ing parts (outgoings), and should overcome the 
fierce enemies. We have no proof that Ephraim 
and half Manasseh ever used this permission. The 
love of ease and fear of their foes combined to 
deter them from ridding the land of the Canaan- 
ites. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XVLU. 173 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

When the two great tribes of Judah and Joseph 
had been located, the one taking the south and the 
other the middle portion of the country, there 
seems to have been a pause in the work of distri- 
bution. We have no direct statement of the 
reason, but, from Joshua's words in the third verse 
of this chapter, we see that the people generally 
were somewhat to blame. Yet there may have 
been a good reason for the postponement, such as 
the breaking out of some formidable insurrection 
among the enslaved Canaanites (see chap. xvii. 
13), or the need of further surveying of the land 
itself in order to know more exactly the landmarks 
(see chap, xviii. 4). The people were perhaps to 
blame only for showing no zeal and readiness to 
resume and complete the work at the proper time. 
We are not told how long the interval was between 
the dividing of the land to the two tribes at Gilgal 
and the dividing of the land to the seven tribes at 
Shiloh. We cannot believe that Joshua would 
have permitted it to be long, however the people 
in their nomadic habits may have been listless in 
the matter. 



174 COMMENTARY OX 

1 And the Tvhole congregation of the children of 
Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the 
tabernacle of the congregation there: and the land was 
subdued before them. 

2 And there remained among the children of Israel 
seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheri- 
tance. 



Vee. 1. Shiloh^ now Seilun, twelve miles south of 
Shechem and two miles east of the main north and 
south road. This retired spot was, nevertheless, 
the very centre of the land. Its name ("rest") 
is indicative of God's fulfilled promise to his cov- 
enant people in settling them in their new land, 
and giving them rest from wandering and from 
enemies. The place was thus typical of the rest 
of the soul in Jesus, who is also designated as 
Shiloh in Gen. xlix. 10. 

The tabernacle of the congregation. The latter 
word is not the same as that in the first part of the 
verse. This " ohel moed " may be rendered '' tent 
of meeting," where the meeting is that of God 
and men, rather than of men together. 

The land was subdued before them. This con- 
firms our first supposition at the beginning of the 
notes on this chapter, that there had been some 
formidable insurrection of the Canaanites that 
broke off the division at Gilgal. When that was 
subdued, then the work could go on ; and, moreover, 
now there was so complete a tranquillity that the 
tabernacle could be safely reared in its place. 
Shiloh continued to be the site of the tabernacle 
for three centuries, till Samuel's day. In Saul's 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XYHI. 175 

3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How 
long are ye slack to go to possess the land which the 
Lord God of your fathers hath given you? 

4 Give out from among you three men for each 
tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and 
go through the land, and describe it according to the 
inheritance of them, and they shall come again to me. 

5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah 
shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house 
of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north. 

6 Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven 
parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may 
cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 



time the tabernacle was at Nob, and in Solomon's 
day (before the temple was built) at Gibeon. 

Ver. 3. Slack. See prefatory note on this 
chapter. 

Ver. 4. A more thorough survey of the land 
was needed for the exact division called for. Three 
men for each trihe^ excluding, of course, Reuben and 
Gad, but probably including Judah, Ephraim, and 
Manasseh, as they were interested in the division 
of the boundaries which actually occurred. The 
number of surveyors would thus be thirty. 

Ver. 6. This seems to be a general statement 
regarding the two great tribes. They should oc- 
cupy the relative positions given them, but Judah 
was to have Simeon and Dan admitted into its 
inheritance. 

Ver. 6. Describe the land^ probably by enumera- 
ating the towns and marking the prominent land- 
marks. (See ver. 9.) The seven portions having 
been described, these lots were to be cast, to deter- 
mine which tribe should receive any given portion. 



176 COMMENTARY ON 

7 But the Levites have no part among yoii; for the 
priesthood of the LoPwD is then- inheritance: and Gad, 
and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have re- 
ceived their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, 
which Moses the servant of the Lokd gave them. 

8 ^ And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua 
charged them that went to describe the land, saying. 
Go, and walk through the land, and describe it, and 
come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you 
before the Lord in Shiloh. 

9 And the men went and passed through the land, 
and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, 
and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh. 

10 If And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before 
the Lord : and there Joshua divided the land unto the 
children of Israel according to their divisions. 

11 If And the lot of the tribe of the children of 
Benjamin came up according to their famihes: and the 
coast of their lot came forth between the children of 
Judah and the children of Joseph. 

12 And their border on the north side was from 
Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho, 
on the north side, and went up through the mountains 
westward ; and the goings out thereof were at the wil- 
derness of Beth-aven. 

13 And the border went over from thence toward 
Luz, to the side of Luz (which is Beth-el) southward; 
and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the 
hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth- 
horon. 

These lots were to be cast as a religious act, with 
all the solemnity of the high-priest's official pres- 
ence. (Comp. chap. xiv. 1.) 

The Lot of Benjamin. 

Vee. 11. Benjamin occupied the region left 
between Judah's northern boundary and Ephraim's 
southern boundary. 

Ver. 12, 13. This border is exactly the same 
with the southern border of Joseph, as given in 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XVIII. 177 

14 And the border was drawn thence^ and compassed 
the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that 
lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out 
thereof were at Kirjath-baal (which is Kirjath-jearim) 
a city of the children of Judah. This was the west 
quarter. 

15 And the south quarter was from the end of Kir- 
jath-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and 
went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah: 

chap. xvi. 1-3 (which see). Read the first part 
of the thirteenth verse thus : '' And the border 
went over thence (z.^., from Beth-aven) to Luz on 
the side of Luz (which is Bethel) southward." 
The two towns called Luz are thus distinguished. 
(See on chap. xvi. 2.) 

Ver. 14. A very erroneous idea may be gath- 
ered from our version. Benjamin's lot did not 
reach the sea, but here it is said to '' compass the 
corner of the sea." The Hebrew for ''sea" is 
used for " west," and the right rendering here is, 
"turned on the west side southward." That is, 
Benjamin's west boundary left the south boundary 
of Ephraim near the hill or mountain in front of 
Beth-horon southwards, and struck south to Kir- 
jath-jearim (for Kirjath-jearim^ see on chap. ix. 8), 
a distance of six miles. This west line would run 
very near to Chephirah. 

Vee. 15. From the end of Kirjath-jearim, Be- 
cause Kirjath-jearim itself was in Judah. 

On the west^ i,e,^ on the west of the south line. So 

" the border went out on the west " is equivalent 

to '' the border went out or started from the west." 

It is curious to see how this ''yammah" and 

8* ;. 



178 COJMMENTARY ON 

16 And the border came down to the end of the 
mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of 
Hinnom, and which fs in the valley of the giants on 
the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to 
the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to En- 
rogel, 

17 And was drawn from the north, and went forth 
to En-shemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which 
is over against the going up of Adummim, and de- 
scended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 

18 And passed along toward the side over against 
Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah: 

19 And the border passed along to the side of Beth- 
hoglah northward: and the out-goings of the border 
were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end 
of eTordan. This was the south coast. 

20 And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. 
This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, 
by the coasts thereof round about, according to their 
families. 

21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of 
Benjamin according to their families, were Jericho, 
and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz. 

" miyyam," the two opposites (''seawards" and 
" from the sea "), come to mean virtually the same 
thing. " Yammah " means literally " seawards " or 
'' westwards," and " miyyam," " from the west," 
but each is used for " on the west." 

Vee. 15-19. This south border of Benjamin is 
the north border of Judah, as given (in the other 
direction) in chap. xv. 5-9. 

Veb. 20. The Jordan formed Benjamin's eastern 
boundary, probably from Wady Nawaimeh to its 
mouth. 

Vee. 21. Jericho. (See on chap. ii. 2.) 

Beth-hoglah. (See on chap. xv. 6.) 

The valley of Keziz^ or rather " Emek Keziz." 
This place was probably in the Ghor. 



JOSHUA, CHAP, XVIII. 179 

22 And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, 

23 And A vim, and Parah, and Ophrah, 

24 And Chephar-haammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; 
twelve cities with their villages: 

25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, 

26 And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, 

27 And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, 

Ver. 22. Beth-arahah. (See on chap. xv. 6.) 

Zemaraim^ perhaps near Mount Zemaraim of 
2 Chron. xiii. 4. If so, then we must look for it 
near Bethel. The name is, probably, a relic of 
the old Zemarites (Gen. x. 18). 

Bethel. (See chap. vii. 2.) 

Ver. 23. Avim. Another form of " Ai." 

Parah, Now Farah, on Wady Farah. 

Ophrah is probably the same as Ephraim of 
2 Chron. xiii. 19, and Ephraim of John xi. 54. 
Robinson suggests Taiyibeh as its site, but Taiyibeh 
seems to be north of Benjamin's lot. 

Ver. 24. Chephar-haammonai and Ophni are not 
identified. 

Gala (or Geba) is Jeba, on a height on the 
south of Wady es-Suweinit. 

Ver. 25. G-ibeon. (See chap. ix. 3.) 

Ramah is er-Ram, near Geba. 

Beeroth. (See chap. ix. 3.) 

Ver. 26. Mizpeh is now (probably) Neby Sam- 
wil, the commanding pinnacle five miles north-west 
of Jerusalem. 

Chephirah. (See on chap. ix. 3.) 

Mozah is not identified. 

Ver. 27. Behem^ Irpeel^ and Taralah are un- 
known. 



180 COMMENTARY ON 

28 And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, (which is Jeru- 
salem) Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their 
villages. This is the inheritance of the children of 
Benjamin according to their famihes. 

Ver. 28. Zelah and Eleph are unknown. 

Gribeath^ same as " Gibeah of Saul " (1 Sam. 
xi. 4), or '' Gibeah of Benjamin " (Judg. xx. 10), 
is probably Tuleil el-Ful, a conical hill three miles 
north of Jerusalem. 

Kirjath is perhaps Khirbet el-Kuta, close to 
Gibeah. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 181 



CHAPTER XIX. 

1 And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even 
for the tribe of tlie children of Simeon according to 
their families: and their inheritance was within the 
inheritance of the children of Judah. 

The Lot of Simeon. 

Ver. 1. To Simeon^ for the tribe of the children 
of Simeon. This repetition of the tribal name is 
found with Gad (chap. xiii. 24), with Issachar 
(ver. 17), and with Naphtali (ver. 82). In the 
last there is a repetition of the word '' children" 
also. 

The full formula, " tribe of the children of 

by their families," is not always given in this 
enumeration of the distributions. '' Tribe " is 
omitted, of course, with Joseph, because he was 
really two tribes. Besides this, " tribe " is omitted 
withEphraim (chap. xvi. 5), with Benjamin (chap, 
xviii. 28), with Zebulun (chap. xix. 10, 16), with 
Issachar (chap. xix. 17), with Naphtali (chap. xix. 
82), with Reuben (chap. xiii. 23), with Gad 
(chap. xiii. 28). Yet with all these, '' tribe " is used 
elsewhere in the enumeration, with the exception 
of Zebulun only. There can be no reason assigned 
for these slight differences, and we only notice them 
here to disprove the idea (held by the Masorites) 



182 COMMENTARY ON 

2 And they had in their inheritance, Beer-sheba, or 
Sheba, and Moladah, 

3 And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azeni, 

4 And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Horniah, 

5 And Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar- 
susah, 

6 And Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities 
and their villages: 

7 Ain, Kemmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities 
and their villages : 

8 And all the villages that icere round about these 
cities to Baalath-beer, Raniath of the south. This i.9 
the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon 
according to their families. 

that every word, as such, had its important mean- 
ing in the record, and that the omission of any 
word from a formula w^as significant. 

Within the inheritance of the children of Judah. 
This was probably not an after-thought, but, Vv^hen 
Judah received its limits at the Gilgal allotment, 
it was doubtless expected that while its borders 
would not be modified, yet, as occasion might de- 
mand, districts within its borders would be given 
to other tribes. 

Vee. 2. Beer-sheha^ or Sheha, Rather, " Beer- 
sheba and Sheba." Sheba is a different place, 
called Shema in chap. xv. 26. All these towns 
have occurred in the list of Judah's towns in 
chap. XV. 

Ver. 6. Tliirteen cities. There are fourteen in 
the Ust, but Beer-sheba and Sheba may have been 
twin cities closely united, and thus counted as one, 
or there may be here an error in the transcription, 
(See on chap. xv. 82.) 

Vek. 8. These cities^ i.e.^ Ain, Remmon, Ether, 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xrx. 183 

9 Out of the portion of the children of Judah 2vas 
the inheritance of the children of Simeon : for the 
part of the children of Judah was too much for them: 
therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance 
within the inheritance of them. 

10 T[ And the third lot came up for the children of 
Zebulun according to their families: and the border 
of their inheritance was unto Sarid: 

11 And their border went up toward the sea, and 
Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to 
the river that is before Jokneam, 

and Ashan. These cities with their surroundings 
were given to Simeon, but the diameter of the 
circle did not reach to BaaLath-beer (or Ramath- 
negeb, '^ Ramah of the south"). This Baalath- 
beer may be either the Bealoth or the Baalah of 
the list in chap. xv. Van de Velde puts it at Tell- 
Lekiyeh, north of Beersheba. 

Ver. 9. Out of the portion of the children of 
Judah, Simeon's eighteen cities lay scattered 
through the Negeb and Shephelah. They did not 
form a solid commonwealth. This was in accord- 
ance with Jacob's prophecy (Gen. xlix. 7). 

The Lot of Zebulun. 

Ver. 10. Sarid is, I take it, the south-west corner 
of the boundary of Zebulun. It is not identified. 
I consider ver. 11 as giving tiie west boundary, ver. 
12, the south boundary, ver. 13, the east boundary, 
and ver. 14, the north boundary. Sarid is probably 
mentioned so conspicuously as being the nearest 
point of Zebulun to the tribes already located. 

Ver. 11. After mentioning Sarid, the west 
boundary is given from north to south till it 



184 COMMEI^TAKY 0:N' 

12 And turned from Sarid eastward, toward the sun- 
rising, unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then 
goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia, 

13 And from thence passeth on along on the east to 
Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Rem- 
mon-metlioar to Neahj 

reaches Sarid ; thus, Maralah, Dabbasheth, and 
Wady Jokneam, then comes Sarid, from which in 
ver. 12 the south boundary is drawn. 

Toward the sea. Rather, "on the west," like 
" on the east " in ver. 13. 

If the valley of Jiphthah-el is the second wady 
north of Wady Abihn (which seems probable), 
then I would place Maralah at Shefa Omar, on the 
ridge above the sea plain, and the phrase, " went 
up," would refer to the ascent to Shefa Omar from 
the wady north of Abilin. 

Dahbasheth may be el-Harbaji on the Wady el- 
Malek, near its junction with the Nahr el-Mu- 
kutta, and Wady Jokneam is the Nahr el-Mukutta 
itself. 

Ver. 12. Sarid would thus be somewhere near 
Tell el-Thureh. 

Chisloth-tabor is undoubtedly Iksal, near Mount 
Tabor. 

Daberath is Deburieh. The boundarj^ went 
north of this place, as Daberath was in Issachar 
(chap. xxi. 28). 

Japhia we must look for near Khan et-Tujjar. 

Ver. 13. This verse should read, '^ And thence 
passeth, on the east, eastward of Gath-hepher to 
Ittah-kazin." The eastern boundary went up 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 185 

14 And the border compasseth it on the north side 
to Hannathon: and the out-goings thereof are in the 
valley of Jiphtliah-el: 

15 And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and 
Idalah, and Beth-lehem; twelve cities with their vil- 
lages. 

northward from Japhia, to the eastward of Gath- 
hepher (or Gittah-hepher), to Ittah-kezin and 
Rimmon. 

Gittah-hepher is el-Meshhad. 

Ittah-kazin may be Kefr Kenna. 

Remmon-methoar^ or Rimmon-hammethoar, is 
Rummaneh. '' Methoar " is not a part of the 
name, but is a participle meaning '' marked off," 
and the phrase should read, " Rimmon which is 
marked off (or ' which belongs ') to Neah." 

Neah is unknown. 

Ver. 14. Compasseth it, i.e., the inheritance 
(ver. 10). 

Hannathon would probably be Kana el-Jelil. 

The valley of Jiphthah-el is the valley going down 
from Jefat (Jotapata of Josephus) into the Wady 
Sha'ab. 

Ver. 15. Keil conjectures from sound reasoning 
that there is a gap here between ver. 14 and ver. 
15, in which seven other cities would be mentioned 
to make the twelve. 

Kattath is unknown. 

NaJcallal is supposed to be Malul. 

Shimron is supposed to be Semmunieh. ' 

Idalah is supposed to be Jeida. 

Beth-lehem is now Beit-lahm. 



186 COMMENTARY ON 

16 This is the inheritance of the children of Zehulun 
according to their families, these cities with their vil- 
lages. 

17 T" A?id the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for 
the children of Issachar according to their families. 

18 And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesul- 
loth, and Shunem, 

19 And Hapharaim, and Shihon, and Anaharath, 

20 And Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez, 

Ver. 16. The territory of Zebulun thus described 
is a rude square, fifteen miles on each side. The 
Wady el-Melik and its feeder the Wady el-Bed- 
awi (or KhuUadiyeh) divides this territory almost 
equally into a northern and a southern section. In 
the southern section is Nazareth, and in the north- 
ern is Cana of Galilee. The region is peculiarly 
sacred (Matt. iv. 16). 

The Lot of Issachar. 

Ver. 18. Their border was toward Jezreel^ or, 
'' their border was to Jezreel," ix,^ included Jez- 
reel. 

Jezreel is now Zerin. 

ChesuUoth is the same, probably, as Chisloth- 
tabor of ver. 12. 

Shunem is Sulem. 

Ver. 19. Hapharaim is, perhaps, Afuleh. 

Shihon is unknown. 

A7iaharath is, perhaps, en-Na'urah. 

Ver. 20. Rahhith is unknown. 

Kishion (or Kishon) was probably on the river 
Kishon, the el-Mukutta. 

Abez is unknown. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 187 

21 And Remeth, and En-gannim, and En-haddah, 
and Beth-pazzez ; 

22 And the coast reacheth to Tabor, and Sliahazi- 
mah, and Beth-shemesh ; and the out-goings of their 
border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their vil- 
lages. 

23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children 
of Issachar according to their families, the cities and 
their villages. 

24 1[ And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the 
children of Asher according to their families. 

25 And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and 
Beten, and Achshaph, 

Ver. 21. Remeth is unknown. 

En-gannim is, perhaps, Jenin. 

JEn-haddah is, probably, Beit-Kad, west of Gil- 
boa. 

Ver. 22. Tabor (mountain and town) was on the 
boundary of Zebulun and Issachar. 

Shahazimali is unknown. 

Beth-shemesh is supposed to be Bessum. 

Ver. 23. Issachar's portion was the great plain 
south of a line of latitude running through Tabor, 
extending to the Jordan behind both Tabor and 
Gilboa. It was a larger portion than Zebulon's, 
and remarkable for its fertility. 

The Lot of Asher. 

Ver. 25. Asher's boundary is described from 
the neighborhood of Achzib (ez-Zib) southward, 
then the south boundary, then the east, and finally 
the sea boundary to Achzib, and then some interior 
towns added. It was a strip of coast sixty miles 
long, and perhaps in no place extending over eight 
or ten miles from the sea. 



188 COMMENTARY OK 

26 And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and 
reacbeth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath ; 

27 And turneth toward the sun-rising to Beth-dagon, 
and reacbeth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiph- 
tbah-el toward the north side of Beth-emek, and Neiel, 
and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand, 

28 And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and 
Kanah, even unto great Zidon; 

Helhath^ Hali^ Beten^ Achshaph^ are supposed to 
be towns near Akka, but it may be that they are 
towns in the Dor district south-west of Carmel. 
If so, the ruins of Hani, east of Tantura, may be 
Hali, and Iksim may be Achshaph. 

Ver. 26. Alammelech is supposed to be con- 
nected with the present Wady Melik. 

A7nad is supposed to be Haifa, 

Misheal is Misalli. Read, " and reacheth to 
Carmel on the west (or sea) side." That is, Car- 
mel is part of its west frontier. 

Shihor-libnath is supposed to be the Belus (Nahr 
Na'man), which enters the sea by Akka. 

Ver. 27. Beth-dagon must be looked for in the 
plain of Akka. 

Reacheth to Zehilun. Asher's portion probably 
touched Zebulun's fi'om the neighborhood of Tell 
el-Kaimon (Jokneam) up to the wady running 
from Jefat (Jiphthah-el). 

Beth-emek and IVeiel are unknown. 

Cabul still bears the same name. 

Ver. 28. Hebron (differently spelled in Hebrew 
from the Hebron of Judah) is probably the same 
as Abdon in chap. xxi. 80, and may be sited at 
Abdeh on the Wady el-Kurn. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 189 

29 And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the 
strong cit}^ Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah: and 
the out-goings thereof are at the sea from the coast to 
Achzib : 

30 Ummah also, and Aphek, and Eehob: twenty 
and two cities with their villages. 

ReJioh is unknown. 

Hammon is probably Hamul. 

Kanah is Kana, eight miles south-east of Tyre. 

Unto great Zidon. Perhaps only to its territory, 
that is, to the river Leontes, which would be Ash- 
er's north boundary. 

Ver. 29. Ramah bears the same name, near 
Tyre. 

Tyre. (See on chap. xi. 8.) 

Hosah is unknown. Read, "and its outgoings 
are on the west at the region of Achzib." That is, 
Achzib forms part of its west frontier. 

Achzib is now ez-Zib, just south of the ladder of 
Tyre. 

Ver. 30. Ummah and Rehoh are unknown. 

Aphelc is generally supposed to be Afka, east of 
Jebeil, but it seems very doubful to me whether 
the fifty miles of territory from the mouth of the 
Leontes to Jebeil was ever intended to be divided 
among the Israelites. (See note on chap. xiii. 
4, 5.) I should rather expect to find Ummah, 
Rehob, and Aphek between Achzib and Akka. 
The supposed identification of Afka with Asher's 
Aphek by Robinson and others is the chief argu- 
ment for extending Asher so very far to the north. 
But Aphek was a common name. There are cer- 



190 COMMENTARY ON 

31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the chil- 
dren of Asher according to their families, these cities 
Tvith their villages. 

32 T[ The sixth lot came out to the children of Naph- 
tali, eve7iioYth.e children of Naphtali according to their 
families. 

33 And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to 
Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto 
Lakum; and the out-goings thereof were at Jordan: 

34 And iJien the coast turneth westward to Aznoth- 
tabor, andgoeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reach- 

tainly four others mentioned in the Old Testament 
history. We are not, therefore, to lay much stress 
on the discovery of an Aphek by the river Adonis, 
above the thirty-fourth parallel. That it is the 
Aphaca of Eusebius and Sozomen, where the fa- 
mous temple of Aphrodite stood, there can be no 
doubt, but that it is the Aphek of Asher is very 
hard to believe. 

Twenty and two cities. By leaving out Zidon, 
as I have proposed above. 

The Lot of NaphtalL 

Ver. 33. Heleph is unknown. 

Allon to Zaanannim. Rather, '' the oak-forest 
at Zaanannim." Zaanannim is near Kedesh (Judg. 
iv. 11), north-west of the Huleh. 

Aclami-neheh should be read as one word. This 
place and Jahneel and Lakum are unknown. Jab- 
neel may be at Dibbin, and then the Jordan at 
Hasbeiya would mark Naphtali's north-eastern 
corner. 

Vek. 34. Turneth westivard^ i,e,^ from Jordan, 
which is Naphtali's east border. This begins the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 191 

etli to Zebuliin on the south side, and reacheth to Asher 
on the west side, and to Judah upon Jordan toward 
the sun-rising. 

35 And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Ham- 
math, Rakkath, and Cinneroth, 

south boundary, at the Jordan, just south of the 
lake of Tiberias. 

Aznoth'tahor and Hukhoh must have been in the 
neighborhood of Kefr Sabt. The boundaries of 
Zehidun and Asher then are touched, extending to 
Jotapata (Jefat),and so northward to the teontes. 
So Zehnlun was Naphtali's south limit, Asher its 
west limit, and Judah upon Jordan its east limit. 
Judah upon Jordan is supposed by Von Raumer 
to mean the sixtv towns of Jair and the lands 
appertaining, which he sites upon the east of the 
Jordan, opposite Naphtali's lot. Jair was a Judah- 
ite, although inheriting in Manasseh. (See 1 Chron. 
ii. 5, 21, 22.) Hence his territory, though in 
Manasseh, would be called Judah. Keil accepts 
this view. It may be that the word '' Judah " has 
slipped in, and that the text originally stood simply 
*'to Jordan on the east." (Comp. LXX.) 

Ver. 85. Ziddim is unknown. 

Zer I conjecture to be the Chorazin of the 
gospels, on the lake. Chorazin is called by Origen 
X(oQa Ziv (Chora-zin), or ''the region of Zin." 
That Zin should be the same as Zer is very nat- 
ural. 

Hammath is certainly Ammaus, the " Hammam " 
below Tiberias. 

Rakhath is Kerak, at the south of the lake. 



192 COMMENTAEY OX 

36 And Adamah, and Eamah, and Hazor, 

37 And Kedesh, and Edrei, and En-hizor, 

33 And Iron, and Migdal-el. Horem, and Beth-anath, 
and Beth-sheniesh; nineteen cities ^dth their villages. 

39 This is the inheritance of the trihe of the cliil- 
dren of Xaphtali according to their families, the cities 
and their villages. 

40 ^ And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of 
the children of Dan accordinc^ to their families. 

41 And the coast of their inheritance Tvas Zorah, 
and Eshtaol. and Ir-shemesh. 

42 And Shaalabbin, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, 

Cinneroth was on the little plain south of 
Mejdel, also on the lake. 

Ver. 36. Adamah was probably in the Aid el- 
Ahmar. 

RamaJi is Rameh. 

Hazor is Huzzur. 

Ver. 37. Kedesh is Kedes, 

Edrei is unknowTi. 

Eii'hazor is Ain Hazur. 

Ver. 38. Iron is Jarun. 

Migdal-el is IMagdala (Mejdel) on the lake. 

Sorem is, perhaps, Hurah. 

Beth-anath is, perhaps, Ainata. 

Beth-shemeth is Bessmn (see on ver. 22), which 
probably had a district in each tribe, Issachar and 
ISTaphtali. 

The Lot of Dan. 

Ver. 41. Zorah and Eshtaol. (See on chap. 
XV. 33.) 

Ir-shemesh^ same as Beth-shemesh (1 Ki. iy. 9. 
See chap. xv. 10.) 

Ver. 42. Shaalahbin is Selbit, north of Ajalon. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 193 

43 And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, 
41 And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, 

45 And Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, 

46 And Me-jarkoii, and Rakkon, with the border be- 
fore Japho. 

47 And the coast of the children of Dan, went out 
too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went 
up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it 
with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt 
therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of 
Dan their father. 

Ajalon is Salo. 

Jethlah is unknown. 

Ver. 43. Elon is unknown. 

Thimnathah (Timnah) and Ekron. (See on 
chap. XV. 10, 11.) 

Ver. 44. Eltekeh and Cribhethon are unknown. 

Baalath (Baalah). (See on chap. xv. 11.) 

Ver. 45. Jehud is, perhaps, Jehudiyeh, and Bene- 
herak is Ibn-Ibrak, both on the north side of Wady 
Muzeirah. If so, then G-ath-rimmon must be 
sought in this vicinity. It may be, however, that 
Gath-rimmon and Gath are the same, and then we 
must look for Jehud and Bene-berak in the vicinity 
of Tell es-Safieh. 

Ver. 46. Me-jarkon and Rakkon are unknown. 

The border before Japho^ i,e,^ Japho (Joppa) and 
the border of the sea that lies near it. (Comp. 
the phrases like ol d^icpl Ilfjlaixov^ so common in the 
Greek.) 

Ver. 47. The Hebrew literally translated is this : 
'' And the border of the children of Dan went forth 
from them, and the children of Dan w^ent up," &c. 
The first clause is equivalent to '' the children of 

9 M 



194 comme:n^taey on 

48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the chil- 
dren of Dan according to their families, these cities 
with their villao-es. 

49 T[ When they had made an end of dividing the 
land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of 
Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun 
among them: 

50 According to the word of the Lord they gave 
him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in 
mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt 
therein. 

51 These are the inheritances which Eleazar the 
priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of 
the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, 
divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the 
Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congrega- 
tion. So they made an end of dividing the country. 



Dan went forth from their border." So the LXX 
understand it. It is a metathesis of subject and 
object. (Comp. Shakespeare's " His coward lips 
did from their colour fly.") 

The '' too little " of our English version is gratui- 
tous, and the " for " is erroneous. 

Leshem is Laish. See Judges xyiii. for the full 
account. Laish is Tell el-Kadi, a few miles west 
of Baneas, at one of the sources of the Jordan, and 
about one hundred miles distant from Dan's in- 
heritance. This raid upon Leshem was made after 
Joshua's death, and its story is inserted here to 
complete the view of Dan's settlement. We see 
in Judges i. 34, the reason for this movement ; to 
wit, that the Amorites were too strong for Dan, and 
kept them out of their best territory. 

Ver. 60. According to the word of the Lord. 
This is not recorded in the Pentateuch, just as the 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XIX. 195 

details concerning Caleb's possession are not re- 
corded there. (See on chap. xiv. 9.) 

Timnath-serah (Timnath-heres in Judg. ii. 9) is 
Tibneh, eight miles north-west of Bethel. 

Built^ i.e.^ '' built up," or " rebuilt." This chap- 
ter ends the account of the distribution of the 
land. 



196 comjnientary on 



CHAPTER XX. 



IX. The Cities of Eefuge. 

1 The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, 

2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint 
out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you 
by the hand of Moses : 

3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares 
and unwittingly, may flee thither: and they shall be 
your refuge from the avenger of blood. 

4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those 
cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, 
and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of 
that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, 
and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. 

5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, 
then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; 
because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated 
him not beforetime. 

6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand 
before the congregation for judgment, and until the 
death of the high priest that shall be in those days: 
then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own 
city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence 
he fled. 

Ver. 2. Cities of refuge. Rather, " the cities of 
refuge," Le,^ those referred to in Num. xxxy. 6, 11, 

Ver. ?>, .Unawares and unwittingly. Lit., "by 
mistake in failure of knowledge." That is, where 
there was no design to commit murder, but the 
blow was given in ignorance of its result. 

Avenger of bloocL Heb., '' Goel Haddam." For 
the law of the avenger, see Num. xxxv. It was a 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XX. 197 

7 ^ And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount 
I^aphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath- 
arba, (which is Hebron) in the mountain of Judah. 

8 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, 
they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain 

system which checked revenge, by giving the aven- 
ger a sacred character, and, by the cities of refuge, 
protected the innocent from harm. 

ThsT/ shall be. So " shall stand," " shall de- 
clare," " shall take," &c., in the next verse. These 
are all preterites in the Hebrew, as marking a system 
already established, but now only made available. 

Ver. 7. And they appointed Kedesh. This in 
Hebrew is a paronomasia, '' w2i>yjdJcedishu eth- 
Kedesh.y For Kedesh, see chap. xix. 37. 

Gralilee. Heb., " Galil " (circle). In Isaiah 
"Gelil ha-goyim" (Galilee of the Gentiles), be- 
cause so many foreigners dwelt in that northern 
part of Palestine. 

Mount JVaphtali^ i.e., the mountainous portion of 
Naphtali, as distinguished from that part of Naph- 
tali lying in the Jordan valley. 

Shechem. The well-known central town of 
Palestine, between Ebal and Gerizim, mentioned 
frequently in the patriarchal history, the Sychar of 
our Lord's day, now Nablus (Neapolis). 

Mount JEphrahn. The mountain district of 
Ephraim : Manasseh and Benjamin was so called. 
Shechem was in Ephraim (Josh. xxi. 20, 21). 

Hebron. (See on chap. x. 3.) 

Ver. 8. These cities of refuge on the east 
side of Jordan had already been appointed by 



198 COMMENTAHY ON 

out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out 
of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the 
tribe of Manasseh. 

9 These were the cities appointed for all the chil- 
dren of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth 

Moses (Deut. iv. 43). Bezer is not yet identified, 
though we may hope that the American Exj)loring 
Expedition now engaged in triangulating the terri- 
tory east of Jordan may find this interesting site. 
Bezer is called Bezer in the wilderness (Midbar), 
in the plain (Mishor) of Reuben. The Mislior 
would appear to be the plain between Heshbon 
and the Wady Zerka Main (now el-Belka), and 
the Midhar of this Mishor would be its eastern 
frontier. If so, we must look for Bezer near Jebel 
Jalul. 

Ramoth in Grilead, It is usual to consider es- 
Salt, three miles south of Jebel Osha, to be Ramoth- 
Gilead, but this site is not near enough to Damas- 
cus and Argob to suit the various statements in 
the Old Testament concerning it. If Ramoth-Gil- 
ead and Ramath-Mizpeh (Josh. xiii. 21) are the 
same, and if Jacob's Mizpeh is to be identified with 
this, then we have an additional argument for be- 
lieving that Ramoth-Gilead is to be placed at or 
near Gerash, according to Ewald and the Jewish 
traveller Parchi.* 

Grolan is not identified, but it gave name to the 
well-known province of Gaulonitis (Jaulan), east 
of the lake of Galilee. 

* Since the ab^ve was written, Mr. Paine, of the American 
Expedition, informs me that he has identified Ramoth-Gilead near 
Gerash. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XX. 199 

among them, that whosoever killeth any person at una- 
wares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of 
the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congre- 
gation. 

Vee.. 9. The fugitive, on arriving at the city of 
refuge, reported himself, and was protected until 
the assembly of his own town could pass judgment 
in the case. Thus much is alluded to in this verse. 
In ver. 6 reference is made to the death of the 
high-priest. This has regard to the case of the 
slayer if innocent. If he were guilty of intentional 
murder, tlie city of refuge extended no protection 
over him after the assembly of his own town had 
convicted him. But if innocent^ then he was taken 
back to the city of refuge, and abode there, pro- 
tected, till the then high-priest died. 



200 COMJMENTABY ON 



CHAPTER XXI. 

X. The Levitical Cities. 

1 Then came near the heads of the fathers of the 
Levites unto Eleazar the jD^'iest, and unto Joshua the 
son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of 
the tribes of the children of Israel; 

2 And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land 
of Canaan, saying. The Lord commanded by the hand 
of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs 
thereof for our cattle. 

3 And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites 
out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the 
Lord, these cities and their suburbs. 

4 And the lot came out for the families of the Kohath- 
ites: and the children of Aaron the priest, wldch were 
of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, 
and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of 
Benjamin, thirteen cities. 

Ver. 1. Heads of the fathers. (See on chap, 
xiv. 1.) 

Ver. 2. At Shiloh, The occasion is the same as 
that mentioned in chap, xviii. 1. We need not 
imagine any new gathering at Shiloh. But this 
was part of the process of distribution and assign- 
ment. 

In the land of Canaan, They were actually in 
the land promised. (See Num. xxxiv. 29.) 

The Lord commanded hy the hand of Moses, 
(See Num. xxxy. 2.) 

Vee. 4. The children of Levi were Kohath, 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXI. 201 

5 And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot 
out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of 
the tribe of Dan, and out of the half -tribe of Manasseh, 
ten cities. 

6 And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the 
families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe 
of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of 
the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. 

7 The children of Merari by their families had out 
of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, 
and out of the tribe of Zebulun^ twelve cities. 

8 And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the 
Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the Lord 
commanded by the hand of Moses. 

9 *[[ And they gave out of the tribe of the children of 
Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, 
these cities which are here mentioned by name, 

10 Which the cliildren of Aaron, being of the fami- 
lies of the Kohathites, who ivere of the children of 
Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot. 

11 And they gave them the city of Arba the father 

Gershon, and Merari (Gen. xlvi. 11). Out of the 
Kohathites ^ came the priestly family of Aaron. 
This priestly portion of Kohath received its thir- 
teen cities in Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 

Ver. 5. The rest of Kohath's familv received 
ten cities further north, in Ephraim and Manasseh, 
and also in Dan on the west, 

Ver. 6. Gershon received thirteen cities still 
further north, in Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and 
across Jordan in Manasseh. 

Ver. 7. Merari received twelve cities in the 
southern part of the trans-Jordanic territory (op- 
posite Ephraim, Manasseh, and Judah), in Reuben 
and Gad, and also in Zebulun on the west side 
(in the midst of the Gershonite cities). 

Ver. 11. And they gave them^ &c. As the forty- 
9* 



202 COMMENTARY ON 

of Anak (which city is Hebron) in the hiW-country of 
Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. 

12 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, 
gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunueh for his pos- 
session. 

13 TT Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the 
priest, Hebron with her suburbs, to he a city of refuge 
for the slayer; and Libnah w^ith her suburbs, 

14 And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with 
her suburbs, 

15 And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her 
suburbs, 

16 And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her 
suburbs, and Beth-shemesh wnth her suburbs; nine 
cities out of those two tribes. 

17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon wdth 
her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, 

18 Anathoth" with her suburbs, and Almon with 
her suburbs; four cities. 

19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, 
were thirteen cities with their suburbs, 

20 ^ And the families of the children of Kohath, the 
Levites w^hich remained of the children of Kohath, 
even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of 
Ephraim. 

21 For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs 
in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; 
and Gezer with her suburbs, 

22 And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth-horon 
with her suburbs ; . four cities. 

23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her 
suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, 

24 Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rimmon with her 
suburbs; four cities. 

eight cities here enumerated have been mostly 
described before, when their names occurred in the 
settlement of the tribes, notes will only be given 
on any new name or circumstance mentioned. 

Ver. 18. Anathoth is Anata. 

Almon is unknown. 

Ver. 22. Kibzaim is unknown. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXI. 203 

25 And out of the half- tribe of Manasseh, Tanach 
with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; 
two cities. 

26 All the cities v^ere ten with their suburbs, for the 
families of the children of Kohath that remained. 

27 IT ^^11 '^^ unto the children of Gershon, of the fami- 
lies of the Levites, out of the other half -tribe of Manas- 
seh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a 
city of refuge for the slayer, and Beesh-terah with her 
suburbs; two cities. 

28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishoa with her 
suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs, 

29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, Enganniii with her 
suburbs; four cities. 

30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her 
suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, 

31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Kehob with her 
suburbs; four cities. 

32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Gali- 
lee with her suburbs, to he a city of refuge for the 
slayer; and Hammoth-dor with her suburbs, and 
Kartan with her suburbs; three cities. 

Vee. 25. Gath-rimmon. Gath-rimmon was in 
Dan, and is already given in the previous verse. 
This mention of it is undoubtedly a copyist's error. 
The name should be (as in 1 Chron. vi. 70) Bil- 
eam (the Ibleam of chap. xvii. 11). 

Vee,. 27. Beesh-terah is '' Ashtaroth" in 1 Chron. 
vi. 71. It was probably Ashteroth Karnaim. (See 
on chap. xiii. 12, and comp. Gen. xiv. 5.) 

Ver. 32. Hammoth-dor is Hammath in chap. 
xix. 85. 

Kartan may be Migdal-el of chap. xix. 88, and, 
as the Levitical portion, may have been (in Migdal- 
minnith) the later Dalmanutha (Mark viii. 10). 
Migdal-minnith would mean '^ the tower of the 
allotment," and Migdal-el, -Hhe tower of God." 



204 COMMENTABY ON 

33 All the cities of the Gershonites, according to 
their families, ivere thirteen cities with their suburbs. 

34 T[ And unto the families of the children of Merari, 
the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, 
Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her 
suburbs, 

35 Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her 
suburbs; four cities. 

36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her 
suburbs, and Jahazah wdth her suburbs, 

37 Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with 
her suburbs ; four cities. 

38 And out of the tribe of Gad, Eamoth in Gilead 
with her suburbs, to he a city of refuge for the slayer; 
and Mahanaim wdth her suburbs, 

39 Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her sub- 
urbs; four cities in all. 

40 So all the cities for the children of Merari by 
their families, which were remaining of the families of 
the Levites, w^ere hy their lot twelve cities. 

41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession 
of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with 
their suburbs. 

42 These cities wxre every one with their suburbs 
round about them. Thus were all these cities. 

43 Tf And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land 
which he sware to give unto their fathers : and they pos- 
sessed it, and dwelt therein. 

44 And the Lord gave them rest round about, ac- 
cording to all that he sware unto their fathers: and 
there stood not a man of all their enemies before them ; 
the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. 

45 There failed not aught of any good thing which 
the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all 
came to pass. 

Kartan is not given in the list of Naphtali's towns 
in chap. xix. If this conjecture be true, then 
Dalmanutha and Magdala on the west shore of the 
lake of Galilee would be tbe same, and Kartan 
would be its original name. 

Ver. 34. Kartah is unknown. 

Vee. 35. Dimnah is unknown. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xxn. 205 



CHAPTER XXIL 

XI. The Eeturn of the Two Tribes and a Half. 

1 Then Joshua called the Eeubenites, and the Gad- 
ites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 

At the close of the preceding chapter we were 
told of the complete possession of the promised 
land by Israel, and the perfect peace which the 
tribes enjoyed. It is true, many Canaanites re- 
mained in various parts of the country, some of 
them in strongholds ; but their number was com- 
paratively small, and their presence was due to 
Israel's neglect and not to the Lord's withdrawal 
of his hand. Every good thing which the Lord 
had spoken unto the house of Israel had been given, 
but they had failed to make a thorough work with 
the divine supply of strength. When at Sliiloh the 
distribution of the land had been perfected, the 
Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites of the trans- 
Jordanic region, who had faithfully for seven years 
continued with their brethren in the subjugation 
of the western countrj^, are dismissed by Joshua to 
their homes. As this return gave rise to a re- 
markable incident, which evinced the faithfulness 
of Israel, its details are carefully recorded in this 
chapter. 



206 COMMENTARY OK 

2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses 
the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have 
obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: 

3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days 
unto this day, but have kept the charge of the com- 
mandment of the Lord your God. 

4 And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto 
your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now re- 
turn ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land 
of your possession, which Moses the servant of the 
Lord gave you on the otiier side Jordan. 

5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment 
and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord 
charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk 
in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to 
cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart, 
and with all your soul. 

6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; 
and they went unto their tents. 

7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh, 
Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the 

Vee. 2. They had equally obeyed the Lord 
through the mouth of Moses and of Joshua. 

Ver. 4. Tents, It is probable that some time 
elapsed before their cities on the east side were 
rebuilt ; and, indeed, it is likely that the two tribes 
and a half used permanently to some extent the 
nomadic tent-life, as they were especially concerned 
with the care of cattle. 

Veb. 5. The commandment and the laiv. The 
former refers to all the special orders communi- 
cated through Moses and Joshua, and the latter to 
the written law. 

To love^ &c. The great purpose of command- 
ment and law is here given, showing that God 
asked of them no formalism, but the preparation 
of the heart before him. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXII. 207 

other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren 
on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent 
them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them, 

8 And he spake unto them, saying, Return with 
much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, 
with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, 
and with very much raiment : divide the spoil of your ene- 
mies with your brethren. 

9 Tf And the children of Reuben, and the children of 
Gad, and the half -tribe of Manasseh retui-ned, and de- 
parted from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which 
is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of 
Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they 
were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by 
the hand of Moses. 

10 ^ And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, 
that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, 
and the children of Gad, and the half -tribe of Manasseh 
built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. 

11 ^ And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, 
the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and 
the half -tribe of Manasseh, have built an altar over 
against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, 
at the passage of the children of Israel. 

12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the 
whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered 
themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against 
them. 

Ver. 8. With your brethren^ i.e,^ those who had 
remained at home to guard the eastern side. (See 
on chap. i. 14.) 

Ver. 9. Land of Canaan^ i.e,^ the west side of 
the Jordan. 

Country of Gilead^ i.e,^ the east side of Jordan. 

Ver. 11. Over against the land of Canaan, 
Rather, "- in front of the land of Canaan," i.e.^ on 
its extreme edge. The altar, we see from ver 10, 
was on the west bank, in the land of Canaan. (See 
also on ver. 9.) 

Ver. 12. The whole people on the west side are 



208 COIVOIENTARY O^ 

13 And the children of Israel sent unto the children 
of Eeuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half- 
tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead, Phinehas 
the son of Eleazar the priest, 

14 And Tvith him ten princes, of each chief honse a 
prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one 
was an head of the house of their fathers among the 
thousands of Israel. 

15 H And they came unto the children of Reuben, 
and to the children of Gad. and to the half-tribe of Ma- 
nasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with 
them, saying, 

aroused most riglitfiiUy, for the act of tlie two and 
a half tribes seemed to be a direct rebellion against 
God's authority, for be had established one only 
altar for the whole of Israel. Although they af- 
terwards explained their act as done with no pur- 
pose of making the altar a sacrificial altar (yer. 
23), yet they certainly did a most imprudent and 
rash thing in building an altar at all. Thej^ should 
have asked of the Lord through the high-priest, 
before forming so dangerous a precedent. (See a 
like error of Gideon's regarding the ephod at 
Ophrah., Judg. viii. 27.) The readiness of Israel 
to war upon their offending brethren was a readi- 
ness to preserve the integrity of Jehovah's worship. 

Vee. 13, 14. The delegation, composed of the 
high-priest's son and ten tribal heads, showed Is- 
rael's estimate of the importance of the occasion, and 
also their wise use of peaceable means before war. 

Ver. 15. U^ito the land of Gilead. The del- 
egation find the two tribes and a half already 
across Jordan, and in their territories. The con- 
ference was probably had with a representative 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xxn. 209 

16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, 
What trespass is this that ye have committed against 
the God of Israel, to turn away this day from follow- 
ing the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, 
that ye might rebel this day against the Lord? 

17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from 
w^hich we are not cleansed until this day, although 
there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord, 

18 But that ye must turn away this day from fol- 
lowing the Lord? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to-day 
against the Lord, that to-morrow he will be wroth 
with the whole congregation of Israel. 

19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession 
he unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the pos- 
session of the Lord, w-herein the Lord's tabernacle 

assembly of the two tribes and a half at some cen- 
tral spot, like Ramoth-Gilead. 

Vek. 16. They accuse the two tribes and a half 
of rebellion, and give the altar as proof. 

Vee.. 17. The iniquity of Peor^ i,e,^ the iniquity 
in joining the worshippers of Baal-pear (Num. 
XXV. 8). 

From which we are not cleansed. They must al- 
lude to moral traces of that fearful lapse still crop- 
ping out among the people, after seven years. 

Plague. The plague which slew twenty-four 
thousand Israelites because of that sin. (See Num. 
XXV.) Some were spared, it seems, who still main- 
tained a tainted life. 

Vee,. 18. '' If one member suffer, all the members 
suffer with it" (1 Cor. xii. 26). This was the rule 
in the old church, as in the new. 

Ver. 19. This verse contains a clear allusion to 
the selfish act of the two tribes and a half in secur- 
ing the east side of Jordan. It was not in the land 

N 



210 COMMENTARY ON 

dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not 
against the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building 
you an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God. 

20 Did not Achan the son of Zerali commit a tres- 
pass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the 
congregation of Israel? and that man perished not 
alone in his iniquity. 

21 ^ Then the children of E,euben, and the chil- 
dren of Gad, and the half -tribe of Manasseh answered, 
and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, 

22 The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, 
he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebel- 
lion, or if in transgression against the Lord, (save us 
not this day,) 

of the possession of Jehovah^ and hence there is still 
an opportunity for the two tribes and a half to give 
up the trans-Jordanic country and settle in the land 
originally designed for them, the promised land, 
the land of Canaan. (See on chap. i. 2, and i. 13.) 
This altar-building Avas a new instance of the evils 
resulting from a wrong course at the start. 

Ver. 20. Achan's sin and its effect upon many 
is a second illustration of the fearful danger of sin- 
ning against God's commands to Israel. The thirty- 
six who perished before Ai lost their lives through 
Achan's sin. 

Ver. 21. Heads of the thousands of Israel^ i.e,^ 
''heads of the house of their fathers among the 
thousands of Israel," as in ver. 14. An abbreviated 
form. 

Vee. 22. TJie Lord God of gods. Rather, " God, 
the great God, Jehovah." This repetition of " El, 
Elohim, Jehovah," shows the great earnestness of 
the denial. 

Save us not this day. A direct cry to God, in- 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xxn. 211 

23 That we have Lnilt us an altar to turn from fol- 
lowing the Lord, or if to offer thereon burnt-offering, 
or meat-offering, or if to offer peace-offerings thereon, 
let the Lord himself retjuire it ; 

24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this 
thing, saying. In time to come your children might 
speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do 
with the Lord God of Israel? 

25 For the Lord hath made Jordan a border be- 
tween us and you, ye children of Reuben and children 
of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord. So shall your 
children make our children cease from fearing the 
Lord. 

26 Therefore we said. Let us now prepare to build 
us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice: 

27 But that it maij be a witness between us, and you, 
and our generations after us, that we might do the 
service of the Lord before him with our burnt-offer- 
ings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace- 
offerings ; that your children may not say to our children 
in time to come. Ye have no part in the Lord. 

28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they 
should so say to us or to our generations in time to 
come, that we mray say again, Behold the pattern of 
the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for 
burnt-offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness 
between us and you. 

29 God forbid that we should rebel against the 
Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to 
build an altar for burnt-offerings, for meat-offerings, 
or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God 
that is before his tabernacle. 

terjected in the midst of their speech to Joshua, 
showing their emotion. They exclaim to God, 
" Be no longer our Saviour, if we are guilty of 
rebellion in this." 

Vee. 24. For fear of this thing. Rather, ''from 
anxiety [same w^ord as that translated ' heaviness ' 
in Prov. xii. 25], from a cause." 

Ver. 27. That we might do the service of the Lord 
before him^ i.e,^ at Shiloh. 

Ver. 28. Pattern. Rather, " copy." 



212 COMMENTARY ON 

30 TT ^nd when Phinehas the priest, and the princes 
of the congregation, and heads of the thousands of 
Israel which v:ere with him, heard the words that the 
children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and 
the children of ^lanasseh spake, it pleased them. 

31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said 
unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of 
Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we 
perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have 
not committed this trespass agaiust the Lord: now ye 
have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of 
the Lord. 

32 ^ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 
and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, 
and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, 
unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and 
hrought them word again. 

33 And the thing pleased the children of Israel ; 
and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not 
intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the 
land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. 

34 And the childi-en of Reuben and the children of 
Gad called the altar Ed : for it shall he a witness be- 
tween us that the Lord is God. 

Ver. 30. It jjleased them. Lit., " it was good 
in their eyes." It did not please them that they 
had built the altar, but that they had not intended 
an}^ rebellion or transgression. 

Ver. 31. Phinehas argues from this happy escape 
from expected evil, and from the proof that the two 
tribes and a half were loyal to God, to the presence 
of God among them, a connection of argument 
most true and most worthy of note. 

Ver. 34. Ed. This word, which means ''witness," 
occurs only once in the Hebrew. The verse should 
read, "called the altar, 'This is a witness be- 
tween us that Jehovah is God.' " This whole long 
name was given to the altar. In Hebrew it is 
" Edhu benothenu Id yehowah ha-elohim." 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xxin. 213 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Xn. Joshua's Two Farewell Addresses. (Chap. 
xxiii. to xxiv.) 

1 And it came to pass, a long time after that the 
Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their ene- 
mies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken 
in age. 

Ver. 1. A. long time after — Joshua waxed old 
and stricken in age. The latter expression is used 
at chap. xiii. 1, in reference to the time prior to 
the distribution of the land, and when Joshua was 
probablj^ eighty-seven years old. (See note on 1. c.) 
The former expression, however, leads us forward 
to some period near Joshua's death, perhaps twenty 
years after the distribution, and when Joshua was 
one hundred and seven years old. He may have 
been anticipating his departure as very near, and 
felt constrained to use his great influence to warn 
the nation, before he should leave them for ever. 
He finds no fault, which fact shows that the early 
days of the Hebrew commonwealth were pure and 
faithful days, but he saw that the large number of 
Canaanites still resident in the land would be (un- 
less special care were taken) a source of sin and 
ruin to the chosen people. Against this danger 
he desires to guard them. Probably no man ever 



214 COMMENTABY OX 



2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their 
elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and 
for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and 
stricken in age: 

3 And ye have seen all that the Lord your God 
hath done unto all these nations because of you; for 
the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you. 



spoke with more moral power to a nation than did 
Joshua. His influence must have been greater 
even than that of Moses, as he had completed the 
work of settling the people as a compact common- 
wealth, and they felt every day the beneficent 
results of his grand leadership. With deep rever- 
ence and affection they must have hung upon his 
words, — words that must have had much to do with 
the comparative purity of the nation for the first 
centuries of its existence. Joshua's honest, unself- 
ish, godly, and heroic character added to the lustre 
of his deeds and his influence over all Israel. 

Ver. 2. All Israel^ that is, their elders^ heads^ 
judges^ officers^ as representatives of the entire 
nation. (See chap. i. 10, and viii. 83.) This seems 
to be the order of gradation (ascending series) in 
the executive powers of the tribes, elders, however, 
being the generic name for all. This solemn as- 
sembly was probably held at Shiloh, as the govern- 
mental centre of the nation. Perhaps Joshua took 
advantage of a national assembly of representatives, 
and called its members together to hear his fare- 
well words to the people. 

Vek. 3. Because of you. Lit., " From before 
you." Note here and in ver. 10 the emphasis 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xxin. 215 

4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these na- 
tions that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, 
from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, 
even unto the great sea westward. 

5 And the Lord your God, he shall expel them 
from before you, and drive them from out of your 
sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord 
your God hath promised unto you. 

6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do 
all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that 
ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the 
left; 

7 That ye come not among these nations, these that 
remain among you; neither make mention of the name 
of their gods, nor cause to swear hy them, neither serve 
them, nor bow yourselves unto them: 

8 But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have 
done unto this day. 

which Joshua lays upon God's fighting for them. 
The whole matter of destroying the Canaanites was 
God's, not theirs. 

Vee.. 4. With all the nations that I have cut off. 
Rather, " even all the nations that I have cut off." 
These nations that remained had been cut off; that 
is, they had ceased to have any proper nationality, 
and were represented only by scattered communi- 
ties. 

Vee. 5. Drive them from out of your sight. 
Rather, '' dispossess them from before you." 

Ver. 6, 7. Compare chap. i. 7, for the order of 
thought. 

Serving the gods is sacrificing to them ; lowing 
is praying. 

Vee. 8. As ye have done unto this day. A noble 
testimony for the nation. 



216 COMMENTARY ON 

9 For the Lord hath driven out from before you 
great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath 
been able to stand before you unto this day. 

10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the 
Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he 
hath promised you. 

11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that 
ye love the Lord your God. 

12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave 
unto the remnant of these nations, even these that 
remain among you, and shall make marriages with 
them, and go in unto them, and they to yoil: 

13 Know for a certainty that the Lord your God 
will no more drive out any o/ these nations from before 
you: but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and 
scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until 
ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your 
God hath given you. 

li And behold, this day I am going the way of all 
the earth; and ye know in all your hearts and in all 
your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the 
good things which the Lord your God spake concern- 
ing you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one 
thing hath failed thereof. 

Vee,. 9. But as for you. Rather, " and as for 
you." 

Ver. 11. Tlfiat ye love the Lord your God. It 
is remarkable that with such repeated appeals to 
set the affections on God, the Jewish system is 
asserted to be a mere formal ritualism. 

Ver. 14. This begins a repetition of a part of 
what he has already said, but in it he emphasizes 
the dangers of abandoning Jehovah. 

All the earthy i.e.^ all the inhabitants of the 
earth. 

Hearts — souls (literally, hearts — breaths^ ^ an 
idiom for thoroughness of conviction. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXIII. 217 

15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good 
things are come upon you, which the Lord your God 
promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all 
evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this 
good land which the Lord your God hath given you. 

16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the 
Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have 
gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to 
them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled 
against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the 
good land which he hath given unto you. 

Ver. 15. So shall the Lord bring upon you all 
evil things^ i.e.^ in case of your failure to cleave to 
him (as is expressed in the next verse). 

Ver. 16. The repetition of good land in verses 
13, 16, and 16 reminds us of the fact that Palestine, 
when under the favoring care of God, must have 
been one of the most fertile lands on earth. Its 
varied climate (as between the mountains and low 
plains) gave it variety of production, its hills ad- 
mitting a thorough system of terracing, enabled a 
very complete occupation of the land for agricultu- 
ral purposes, and choice exposures could be found 
for such vegetation as needed more or less influ- 
ence of the sun, while fountains broke forth on 
every side and supplied abundantly the land with 
moisture. 



10 



218 COMMENTAE.Y O^ 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to 
Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for 
their heads and for their judges, and for their officers; 
and they presented themselves before God. 

This chapter brings before us another represen- 
tative assembly, at Shechem this time, and. not at 
Shiloh, in which Joshua renews the covenant be- 
tween the people and God, as he had done nearly 
thirty years before in the same place. (See chap, 
viii. 80-35.) The former address of Joshua seems 
to have been delivered in the belief that he was 
soon to leave- this world, and was prompted by his 
ardent desire for the purity of the people, Avho 
would (he knew) be sorely tempted away from 
God by the idolatrous population among them. 
This address, however, and the assembly at which 
it was delivered, were appointed by divine direction, 
as we see by the phrase, "- before God," in ver. 1, knd 
the formula, '^ thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel," 
in ver. 2. The former occasion was (so to speak) 
a private conference of Joshua with Israel. This 
occasion was an official conference, in which Joshua 
acted as the divine legate. 

Ver. 1. Shechem^ the place made a sanctuary by 
Abraham on entering the land* (Gen. xii. 6, 7), 
and again by Jacob (Gen. xxxiii. 20), and still 



JOSHUA, CHAP. xxiy. 219 

2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith 
the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the 
other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the 
father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and 
they served other gods. 

3 And I took your father Abraham from the other 
side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land 
of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him 
Isaac. 

4 And I gave unto Isaac, Jacob and Esau: and I 
gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob 
and his children went down into Egypt. 

5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, 
according to that w^hich I did among them : and after- 
ward I brought you out. 

6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye 
came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after 
your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red 
sea. 

7 And w^hen they cried unto the Lord, he put 
darkness betw^een you and the Egyptians, and brought 

again made the ycene of the renewal of the cove- 
nant Avhen the nation Israel entered upon posses- 
sion of the land (chap. viii. 30-36). As the very 
centre of the land, also, it was a fitting spot for the 
solemn ceremony to be enacted. 

JElders — heads — judges — officers. (See on 
chap, xxiii. 2.) 

Before God. Not before the tabernacle which 
was at Shiloh. That would have been ''before 
Jehovah." But at the command of God, to wor- 
ship him and takp part in a religious act. 

Ver. 2. The flood. Lit., " the river, " ^.e„ the 
Euphrates. 

Ver. 3. Throughout all the land of Canaan^ in 
order to survey the land promised to his posterity 
(See Gen. xii.) 



\ 



220 COMMENTARY ON 

the sea upon them, acd covered them; and your eyes 
have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in 
the wilderness a long season. 

8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, 
which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought 
with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye 
might possess theh' land; and I destroyed them from 
before you. 

9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, 
arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called 
Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: 

10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam ; therefore 
he blessed you still : so I delivered you out of his 
hand. 

11 And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jeri- 
cho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the 
Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and 
the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the 
Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand. 

12 And I sent the hornet before you, w-hich drave 
them, out from before you, even the two kings of the 
Amorites: but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 

Veb. 11. TJie Amorites^ &c. There seems to be 
an apposition here with '^ the men (or possessors) 
of Jericho." Jericho, as an important frontier city, 
may have had in it representatives of all the seven 
nations of Canaan for defence against Israel. No- 
tice that the Girgashites appear here at Jericho, 
who afterward disappear. (See note on chap, 
ix. 1.) 

Ver. 12. This verse seems to be out of place. 
It should be between the eighth and ninth verses, 
as it refers to the action against Sihon and Og. 
The homoeoteleuton will account for the error in 
transcription. 

Hornet. (See Ex. xxiii. 28, and Deut. vii. 20.) 
A figurative expression for the tribulation God 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXIV. 221 

13 And I have given you a land for which ye did 
not labour, and cities which ye built not. and ye dwell 
in them; of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye 
planted not do ye eat. 

14 ^ Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him 
in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which 
your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and 
in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. 

caused amoDg the people of Canaan in preparation 
for Israel's entrance into the land. Some of this 
tribulation consisted of their fear of the advancing 
Israelites (see chap. ii. 9-11), and perhaps some 
consisted of inter-tribal wars and local pestilences. 

Ver. 14. The marvellous history so clearly and 
succinctly recounted was the natural preface for 
the exhortation which here begins. 

Flood, (See on ver. 2.) 

Put atvay the gods. This seems to imply that 
Israel was beginning to think less evil of the idola- 
try around them. Perhaps some of the idols of 
the subdued Canaanites had been preserved as 
spoil, or had been received as curiosities or orna- 
ments, and God would nip the mischief in the bud. 
They should put away these objects altogether, for 
they would tempt them to regard idolatry as a 
small evil, and so prepare the way for their own 
idolatrous habits. As, however, the gods they were 
to put awa}^ were the gods which their fathers 
served on the other side of the Euphrates and in 
Egypt, it is more probable that they had kept some 
of the old teraphim (see Gen. xxxi. 34) of Syria 
and idolatrous trinkets of Egypt as heirlooms among 
their families. (Comp. Amos v. 26.) 



222 COMMENTARY ON 

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, 
choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the 
gods which your fathers served that loere on the other 
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose 
land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will 
serve the Lord. 

16 And the people answered, and said, God forbid 
that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; 

17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us 
up, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from the 
house of bondage, and which did those great signs in 
our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we 
went, and among all the people through whom we 
passed: 

18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the 
people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: 
therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our 
God. 

19 And Joshua said unto the people. Ye cannot 
serve the Lord: for he is an holy God: he is a jealous 
God; he will not forgive your transgressions, nor your 
sins. 

20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, 
then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, 
after that he hath done you good. 

21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we 
will serve the Lord. 

Ver. 15. Choose you this day whom ye will serve. 
A most forcible irony. Would they take the gods 
of Mesopotamia, or the gods of Canaan ? — wliich ? 
The former their fathers had abandoned, the lat- 
ter had not preserved their worshippers. As for 
Joshua, he would serve Jehovah. 

Ver. 18. The people adopt both premise and 
conclusion from Joshua. 

Ver. 19-21. Joshua strengthens the action of 
the people, by showing God's holy jealousy against 
all apostasy. 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXIY. 223 

22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are wit- 
nesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the 
Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are wit- 
nesses. 

28 Now therefore put away {said he) the strange 
gods which are among 3"ou, and incline yoar heart 
unto the Lord God of Israel. 

2i And the people said anto Joshua, The Lord 
oar God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. 

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that 
day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in She- 
chem. 

26 ^ And Joshua wrote these words in the book of 
the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up 
there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the 
Lord. 



Ver. 22-24. A final clinching of the solemn 
contract of the people. The third blow (as it 
were), to make all fast. 

Ver. 25. aS^^ Joshua made a covenant. Lit., " and 
Joshua cut a covenant." After the oral promises 
reiterated once and again, the ceremonies of a 
formal covenant are performed. 

Statute and ordinance, A hendiadys for '' a 
solemn sentence written or inscribed," probably 
cut into the great stone that was set up. (See 
next verse.) 

Ver. 26. Joshua added this record to the Pen- 
tateuch. 

Under an oak that was hy the sanctuary of the 
Lord, Rather, " under the oak that was in the 
sanctuary of Jehovah." That is, under the oak 
grove (or terebinth grove), where Abraham and 
Jacob had built their altars (see on ver. 1), and 



22-i co:m:^iextaey ox 

27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, 
this stone shall be a T\itness unto us; for it hath beard 
all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it 
shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ve deny 
your God. 

28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto 
his inheritance. 

29 *[ And it came to pass after these things, that 
Joshua the son of Xun the servant of the Loud died, 
heing an hundred and ten years old. 

30 And they buried him in the border of his inheri- 
tance in Timnath-serah. which is in mount Ephraim, 
on the north side of the hill of Gaash. 

31 And Israel served the Lokd all the days of Joshua, 
and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, 
and which had known all the works of the Lord that 
he had done for Israel. 

32 ^ And the bones of Joseph, which the children 
of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in She- 
chem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of 
the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hun- 
dred pieces of silver; and it became the inheritance of 
the children of Joseph. 

where Jacob had purified Lis family. This was 
'' the sanctuaiy of Jehovah '" in Shechem. 

Yee. 27. It hath heard. Compare, for this bold 
figure, Hab. ii. 11, and our Saviour's own words, 
Luke :dx. 10. 

Vee. 30. Timnath'Serali, (See on chap. xix. 
50.) 

The hill of Gaash is not identified. It is prob- 
ably the hiU of Deir Abu Meshal. 

Vee. 32. The burial of Joseph's bones, though 
mentioned here to save interrupting the story of 
Joshua, yet was doubtless made so soon as Israel 
gained possession of the soil. 

WJiich Jacob bought, (See Gen. xxxiii. 19.) 



JOSHUA, CHAP. XXIV. 225 

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they 
buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, 
which was given him in mount Ephraim. 

Ver. 33. In a hill that pertained to Phinehas, 
Rather, ''in Gibeath Phinehas," a place so called 
from his son. Perhaps it is the present Jihia^ near 
the central Gilgal. 



10* 



APPENDIX. 



I. The Chronological Question. 

The date in 1 Ki. vi. 1, is one of great importance in 
arranging any system of Old Testament chronology. We 
are there told that from the exodus to Solomon's acces- 
sion there were four hundred and seventy-six years. Sol- 
omon's accession can be very proximately timed by the 
notices of reigns between his own and the destruction of 
Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, where by the help of Baby- 
lonian and the later Persian records all is made plain. 
According to these data, Usher's date of 101 o for Solo- 
mon's accession is quite correct, and hence the year of the 
exodus would be B.C. 1491. Now this date would make 
the exodus to have occurred in the reign of Thotmes III. 
of Egypt, according to the Egjrptian chronology of Wil- 
kinson and others. But this hinge passage in 1 Kings is 
supposed to be an interpolation, from the fact that Origen 
quotes the passage immediately following, but omits this, 
and from the additional fact that Josephus and the early 
Christian historians seem not to have known it. Now if 
we take away the date in 1 Kings, we are left to two 
courses : either to go with Brugsch, and lessen the time 
between the exodus and Solomon, putting the exodus in the 
reign of Merneptah, son of the great Rameses (b.c. 1289- 
1269) ; or to heed the almost necessity of the chronology 
of the Book of Judges, and lengthen the time between the 



228 APPENDIX. 

exodus and Solomon, putting the exodus back in the 
seventeenth dynasty (b.c. 1651-1580*). We thus have 
a range of four hundred years, with regard to which we 
are in uncertainty as to the right place of the exodus. 
A difBcuhy of the first two dates has been suggested in the 
fact that the times immediately after Thotmes III. and 
Merneptah were so prosperous and warlike in Egyptian 
affairs as scarcely to permit the conquest of Canaan by 
Joshua. The last date might suit in this particular, if 
we accept the shorter Egyptian chronology, and put the 
exodus in the latter part of the seventeenth dynasty ; but 
we use the longer chronology of Lepsius, we are then, if 
with our longer Israelitish chronology, only brought back 
to Thotmes III., and meet the old difiiculty. Thus two 
hypotheses bring us to Thotmes, and it may be best to 
hold provisionally his date for the exodus, and to take 
Canon Cook's ingenious explanation of the difficulty. (See 
Speaker's Commentary, vol. i. pp. 459, 460.) In the prog- 
ress of Egyptian discovery, we may hereafter find more 
solid data than any we now have. 

If we take the whole of the disputed period of four 
hundred years from (say) B.C. 1660-1260, we find that 
the Chaldean kingdom made no impression upon the Pal- 
estine region during it, for the temporary raiding sway of 
Chedorlaomer was long before, and that of Chushan-risha- 
thaim (if he be Chaldean) was afterward. We find, also, 
that the Assyrian monarchy during these centuries had not 
ventured its strength beyond the Euphrates. Egypt was 
the only great kingdom that could have interfered with 
the progress of Israel to Canaan and its peaceful settle- 

* This is Wilkinson's data; Lepsius and Brugsch make it 1706 
B.C., one hundred and twenty-six years earlier, and so give an 
earlier date to Rameses than Wilkinson's years above. 



APPENDIX. 229 

ment ; and from the fact that no mention of Egypt is made 
in the whole narrative, and no hostile attack of Egypt is 
noted till Rehoboam's day, five centuries after the exodus, 
we may conclude that Egypt adopted the policy of leaving 
Israel untouched in her frequent invasions of Syria during 
the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first dyn- 
asties. This may have been a policy of the great empire 
(providentially ordered by God for the protection of his 
people), by which to put a barrier between the Rutennu and 
Cheta on the north and Egypt on the south. Such an 
hypothesis would explain the wonderful security of Israel 
for centuries, while so near their old and powerful 
oppressor in the height of its grandeur. Certainly, it is a 
most marvellous fact that from Israel we hear nothing of 
Egypt for five centuries, in which such monarchs as 
Thotmes III., Amenotep II. and III., Seti, Rameses I., 
II., and III., were overrunning western Asia. This is 
perhaps one of the strongest arguments for putting the 
exodus at a late date, just before the depressed state of 
Egypt which seems to have followed the reign of Rameses 
III. Yet strong as it is, it is too solidly met by the 
demand for a much longer time between the exodus and 
Solomon for us to accept it, and we therefore fall back 
upon our hypothesis, above stated, for the non-appearance 
of Egypt in Israelitish history between the time of the 
Pharaoh of the exodus and Shishak. 

n. The Miracles. 

The grand miracles of the dividing of the Jordan, the 
fall of Jericho's walls, and the standing still of the sun and 
moon, have received an unusual share of infidel attack. 
They really formed part of the same series of miracles 
which began with the plagues of Egypt, and was contin-' 



230 APPENDIX. 

ued in the dividing of the Eed Sea. the guidance of the 
cloud, and the daily famishing of the manna. It was the 
period of founding a great church by the God of Salva- 
tion, and he surrounded its founding with glorious evi- 
dences, as afterward he surrounded the founding of the 
Christian Church, its development, with like miraculous 
evidences for the conviction of mankind. We should look 
just to such epochs as those in which marvels from God's 
hand should be dealt out to the world. That a miracle 
is impossible, is an absurdity to any mind that believes in 
God, and, if possible, then here is just the place for mira- 
cles. Fm'ther, that a miracle cannot be proved bv evi- 
dence, is an absurdity to any one who believes in man. If 
men are good witnesses to a steamer's explosion, they are 
equally good witnesses to a rapid river ceasing its flow 
for several hours, and then resuming its fulness and force. 
As to the miracles of the Book of Joshua, the evidence for 
each is the same; and yet it is strange how many who 
accept the miracle of the Jordan and of Jericho, hesitate 
at the sun's standing still, and endeavor to explain it 
away. They say it is poetry. But if it be poetry, it is 
quoted as history by the sacred historian in a most matter- 
of-fact narrative. To introduce a mere flight of poetry in 
such a narrative would be not only awkward but false. 
But. beside this, no poetry would dare to make a mere 
wish of Joshua's, or a retrospective rejoicing of Israel, take 
the form of this quotation from the Book of Jasher ; thus 
(Josh. X. 12-14). '• Then spake Joshua to Jehovah in the 
day when Jehovah dtilivered up the Amorites before the 
children of Israel, and he said in the siorht of Israel, Sun, 
stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the 
valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon 
stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon 



APPENDIX. 231 

their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher ? 
So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted 
not to go down about a whole day. And there was no 
day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened 
unto the voice of a man : for Jehovah fought for Israel." 
Surely if the sun and moon continued their apparent 
courses, this would be poetry run mad. The quotation 
from Deborah's triumphant song is often used as a parallel, 
" The stars in their courses fought against Sisera," but 
this would be a perfectly legitimate hyperbole for the 
shrouding of the stars in darkness, by which God may have 
made the night too dark for successful flight. The detailed 
statements of our passage in Joshua bear no comparison 
with this poetry of Deborah. But still further, it is highly 
improbable that the passage, after the mention of the Book 
of Jasher, is either quotation or poetry. It is rather the 
sacred historian's comment on the quotation, and his repe- 
tition of its main truth. • 

The argument against the miracle, that it is never again 
mentioned, has no force whatever, even were it true, for 
many wonderful manifestations of God's power are men- 
tioned but once. But it is not true, for in Hab. iii. 11, 
the reference to this event is unmistakable. 

As to the miracle itself, no one for a moment would 
suppose that a literal standing still of sun and moon is 
necessarily intended. To argue from this phraseology, 
that it shows an ignorance of astronomy, and is therefore a 
part of a false record, is puerile, and should be so held by 
every one who says " the sun rises " and " the sun sets." 
There was an apparent stoppage of the apparent courses 
of the sun and moon, whether by action through the laws 
of refraction or otherwise it matters little. God could do 
it, that's enough. This apparent stoppage of sun and 



232 APPENDIX. 

moon occurred early in the day, as the sun stood still over 
Gibeon, and the army of Joshua was at the west of that 
city. This shows that the ordinary reason for the miracle 
(that the day should be prolonged and give more time for 
the pursuit) is incorrect. The miracle was wrought early 
in the day, probably as an encouragement to Israel, to 
whom it was announced by Joshua as a sign of Jehovah's 
presence and blessing. The stoppage may have continued 
only a few hours, long enough to serve its purpose as a 
divine sign. The phrase, " hasted not to go down about 
a whole day," does not militate against this view, for that 
passage, strictly rendered, should read, " hasted not to go 
down as a perfect day," z.e., tarried, and did not hurry on, 
as it does on every ordinary day. 

III. The Moral Question. 

The cruelty of the destruction of the Canaanites has 
been always emphasized by the opponents of the Scriptures, 
and has been one of the most plausible arguments against 
revelation. The manner in which the objection is put is 
this : that the slaughter by the Israelites of hundreds of 
thousands of innocent children and women, as well as men 
in arms, in order to clear a land for the settlement of 
themselves, is a piece of selfishness and barbarism not to be 
equalled by any fact in the history of violence and rapacity, 
and that such conduct could never have been sanctioned by 
a just and holy God, but must have received his righteous 
reprobation ; hence any mark of God's approval as here 
recorded is a falsehood, and the whole history is proved to 
be a fraud. This specious reasoning is very apt to carry 
away a superficial thinker, because its parts hold well 
together, and you vainly strive to find a weak link in the 
chain. If the statement be true, the conclusion is irresist- 



APPENDIX. 233 

ible. But it is in the statement the treachery lies. The 
Israelites did not slaughter women and children in order 
to clear a land for themselves, but they did it in order to be 
faithful to God, The act waa not theirs at all, but God's ; 
and they even resisted its performance, and spared the 
Canaanites again and again, in opposition to the divine 
commandment. God had ordered the extermination of 
the Canaanites at their hand, both directing it to be fully 
done, in spite of their promptings to spare, and also declar- 
ing that the judgment upon Canaan had nothing to do 
with Israel's superiority or any right on Israel's part 
(Deut. vii. 2, xx. 16-18, as compared with ver. 10, also 
Deut. ix. 4-6). We are therefore to consider Israel as 
an obedient instrument in God's hand, and view the action 
as entirely God's. This takes it out of the analogy of 
human actions, and prohibits our condemning verdict. 
Are we ready to condemn God for causing the death of 
women and children ? Are we ready to blame him for 
using the pestilence, the wasting fever, the racking pains 
of inflammation and rheumatism, in dissolving the human 
body ? What are we, that we can enter into the counsels of 
the Most High, and act the critic there ? Does it not become 
us to be dumb and submissive, confiding in his infinite truth ? 
This is the state of the question. God is not sanctioning 
cruelty in man by this exceptional action through Israel 
any more than the State is sanctioning cruelty in man by 
its charge to the sheriff for the execution of a thousand 
criminals. God especially fortified Israel against receiv- 
ing a taste or tendency for cruelty from these peculiar 
circumstances by the merciful provisions of the Mosaic 
law, and the careful details of the relisfious life of the 
nation. The people were watched over with the assiduity 
and constant provision of a nurse with her child, and 



234 APPENDIX. 

could tlius be safely entrusted with a coramission which to 
other nations would have been injurious. The above rea- 
soning would hold good if every Canaan ite had been 
destroyed ; but the instance of Rahab reveals a principle 
of exception that must not be overlooked. The depraved 
people of Palestine had for forty years been warned of the 
coming judgments, and called to the true God by the 
events occurring almost at their doors. The grand evi- 
dences of Jehovah's presence and will in the plagues of 
Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the guidance of the 
cloud, and the daily supply of manna, were well known to 
all the tribes of Canaan. God was near them, and coming 
toward them to punish them, and in his mercy he gave 
them forty years to turn unto him. But all this w^arning 
display of the Divine purpose produced in the Canaanites 
(as such long-suffering threaten ings are wont to do with 
wilful man) a strange mingling of fear and resistance, 
instead of penitence and faith. Rahab, however, was an 
instance of the penitence and faith, and her statement 
throws great light on the whole subject of Canaan's warn- 
ing. It is this : " I know that Jehovah hath given you 
the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that 
all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you ; for 
we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the 
Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt [i.e., forty 
years before] ; and what ye did unto the two kings of the 
Amorites that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and 
Og, whom ye utterly destroyed [2.^., only the preced- 
ing year]. And as soon as we had heard these things, our 
hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage 
in any man, because of you ; for Jehovah your God, he is 
God in heaven above and in earth beneath" (Josh. ii. 9- 
11). How many of Canaan's inhabitants acted as Rahab, 



APPENDIX. 235 

and were spared, we know not. There may have been 
thousands. But we know this additional fact of God's 
mercy amid his righteous judgments, that Rahab's faith in 
Jehovah secured from Canaan's fate not only herself, but 
her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, and all 
belonging to their families (" all that they have," chap. ii. 
13 ; "all her kindred," chap. vi. 23). The Mosaic system, 
which made ample provision for the stranger as well as 
the Hebrew, may have embraced in Palestine many thou- 
sands of these believing and spared Canaanites. 

IV. The Spiritual Lessons of the Book. 

The book is a grand lesson of trust in a covenant Jeho- 
vah, whose strength is assured to his people. It shows 
his tenderness at the same time with his holy severity 
against wanton disregard of his commandments. Pre- 
sumptuous Achan is cut off, but Israel, failing to destroy 
the Canaanites, not from presumptuousness, but from lack 
of faith and courage, is not cut off, but is plagued by its 
own weakness. The power of a pure piety to cement 
brethren together is also demonstrated in this story of 
Israel's purest period, and the relation of the two (love to 
God and love to the brethren) is beautifully illustrated in 
the action and reaction between the tribes touching the 
altar-monument erected by the trans-Jordanic tribes in the 
Jordan valley. Everywhere in the book the ritual is 
shown to be subservient to the spiritual, and the service of 
God is the obedient heart and the loving devotion of the 
whole man. In God's words to Joshua, in Achan's sad 
story, in the scene at Ebal, in the parting of the trans- 
Jordanic tribes, and in the two valedictories of Joshua, the 
deep heart-religion of the Mosaic system is especially evi- 
dent. 



236 APPENDIX. 

Nor can we io-nore the lessons that come to us thronorh 
a symbolism which we are taught by the Apostle Paul and 
the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. We see, not 
as a poetic imagination, but as a heavenly instruction, the 
entrance into Canaan symbolizing the believer's entrance 
into rest, not the rest of heaven, but the rest which even 
here he has in Jesus Christ. We see that in this rest he 
may be disturbed by his own lack of faith, the results of 
w^hich failure will be thorns in his side, and that only by a 
complete commitment of himself to the will of God will 
his rest be made perfect. We see, moreover, how our 
Joshua (Jesus) is the sole guide to this rest, so that as 
Jesus is both priest and sacrifice, both foundation and 
builder, so is he both the Eest and the Guide to it. 

In the light of the New Testament, this book of Joshua 
will prove full of spiritual comfort and edification to every 
seeking believer. God has placed it in the canon not to 
praise Joshua or Israel, but to teach and bless his dear peo- 
ple to the end of time. 



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his books, which have attained such a wide popularity in this country and Europe." 
— Lutlieran Observer, 



ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS* NEW BOOKS. JJJ 



GOLDEN APPLES. Fit Words for the Young. By the Rev 

Edgar "Woods. 16mo. $1.00. 

*' Many a mother will be pleased to possess it, that she may, by its aid, be able to 
make her little ones acquainted with the teachings of the Master." - Baptist Union. 

FOLLOW THE LAJVIB; or, Counsels to Converts. By Horatius 

BONAR, D.D. ISmo. 40 cents. 

*' There is a great deal of wisdom compressed in this little book, and it would be 
well if a copy were placed in the hands of every beginner in the Christian life." — 
Albany Evening Journal. 

EARTH'S MOROTNG; or, Thoughts on Genesis. By Horatius 

BONAR, D.D. 

THE RENT YEIL. By Horatius Bonar, D.D. 

CLEFTS IN THE ROCK ; or, The Believer's Ground of Confi- 
dence in Christ. By the Rev. J. R. Macduff, D.D. 16mo. §1.50. 

The author of "Memories of Bethany," and of *' Morning and Night "Watches," 
has secured for himself an honorable place among the writers of devotional books. 

THE WHITE ROSE OF LANGLEY. A Tale. By Emily 

Sarah Holt. $1.50. 

The author of this volume has admirable talent for grouping in charming narra- 
tive the facts of history, and this is one of her most interesting books 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 

1. YERENA. A Tale of To-day. $1.50. 

2. ISOULT BARRY, OF WYNSCOTE. A Tale of Tudor Times. 
By Emily Sarah Holt. $1.50. 

3. ROBIN TREMAYNE. A Tale of the Marian Persecution. A 

Sequel to the above. $1.50. 

" The advent of Froude, Burke, and others, as lecturers on Irish and English his- 
tory, have imparted a new interest to the study of English history, especially of the 
period of the Tudurs; and it is fortunate for American readers that there should have 
appeared, just at this time, two narratives of Tudor times — ' Isoult Barry, of Wyns- 
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times, their fidelity to the manners, customs, and language of the period, and their 
skilful limning of the prominent actors, both princes and nobles, throw more light 
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do." — Educational Monthly. 

4. ASHCLIFFE HALL. A Tale of the Last Century. S1.25. 

'* Deserves a high place among the best books of its class. It is both well written 
and thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end " — Record. 

5. THE WELL IN THE DESERT. An Old Legend of the House 

of Arundel. %\ 25. 

"A tale of the Middle Ages, showing that there were beautiful gleams of light 
even in those dark days. It is a touching story." — Tlie, Christian. 



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